Tax Free Holiday A Hit Amid Newly Roughening Economy

With the economy paralyzed and unemployment still high, Massachusetts residents will get a break this weekend, Aug. 13 and 14, as most in-state purchases less than $2,500 will be tax-free.

Motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, and tobacco products are all exceptions to the rule.  The $2,500 limit applies to individual items, so five $1,000 TV’s could be bought, all tax free, even if the total shows $5,000.

The timing of the event is no coincidence.  As students gear up for another school year, the weekend is a chance for parents to save some money on clothes, laptops, mini-fridges, and whatever else an aspiring scholar may need.

Tax-free days were introduced to Massachusetts in 2004, with a single tax-free day. The tradition has continued every year since then, except in 2009, when the sales tax jumped from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.

The Department of Revenue estimates that Massachusetts citizens will save about $20.5 million over the tax-free weekend.

At the this week, the coming tax-break weekend was at the forefront of many minds.

Mary Grella didn’t wait for the weekend to swoop up a hugely discounted Ralph Lauren blanket from , but she does plan on taking advantage of the tax-free weekend by buying a $600 stove.  She’ll save approximately $37.50 on the purchase. 

Her first meal will be a simple one: “Macaroni… or spaghetti!” she said.

Tatum Andersen, who was strolling through the mall on Wednesday, won’t be taking advantage of this year’s tax-free weekend.

She recently purchased a washer/dryer combo from New England Appliance in Braintree. Although she said she could have saved $100 by waiting to purchase the unit, it would have taken two weeks to get it delivered because of the expected influx of sales over the weekend.

Genie Bosz was perusing dishwashers in , looking for a good buy. She said the weekend is a nice break for the middle class, which doesn’t receive enough credit for forking so much of their pay over to the government.

“They pay enough taxes as it is,” she said.  “So it’s a nice Christmas treat.”

Down the aisle, Einar Hansen had just picked out the perfect dishwasher for himself, with the help of his mother. 

Hansen is heading to Maine for a camping trip over the tax-free weekend, so his mother will wait until the weekend and make the purchase.

“I think it’s a good idea,” he said.

Correction: The paragraph with the Macy's stove purchase previously contained the incorrect potential savings.