Mixed Reviews of Sales Tax Holiday

Five days after the state's sales tax holiday ended, Dave Oberman, owner of Chromasonic TV at 42 Chestnut Street, was still bustling because of the previous weekend's sales surge.

"We sold a ton of LCD TVs," Oberman said Friday morning. "We're still delivering them."

Oberman couldn't quantify "a ton," and the state Department of Revenue, which projected Massachusetts consumers would save $20-23 million in taxes Aug. 14-15, won't release actual figures of its own until October.

So, for now, the report on the tax holiday is largely anecdotal, and though Chromasonic enjoyed a hearty boost, stories from Needham businesses are mixed.

"In the past – the very first year [there was a tax holiday] – it was tremendous for us," said Jeff Gordon, who owns Scorby's Camera at 1029 Great Plain Avenue. "Same thing the second year. But the third year was just OK. And this year, I've heard on the news and read in the papers that it was successful, but it seems to me that people go to the malls. So, for us, it was OK but not like years past."

Gordon suggested one reason for a moderate shopping turnout was the state government's late approval of the sales tax holiday. The House of Representatives voted, 134-13, July 7 to waive the 6.25 percent tax for two days, but the Senate took longer, and the measure was not official until Aug. 5, when Gov. Deval Patrick signed and economic development bill that included a provision for the tax holiday.

Most non-business purchases of less than $2,500 were exempt from the state's sales tax last weekend.

Carrie Carnes, the store manager at Soccer Spot at 1299 Highland Avenue, said many of her customers weren't even aware of the tax-free weekend.

"To tell you the truth, I'd be checking people out, and I'd say, 'Oh, I have to take off the tax,' and they'd say, 'I completely forgot about that,'" Carnes reported. "I didn't have a single person mention it to me."

At Closet Exchange, a women's consignment store at 906 Great Plain Avenue, however, co-owner Brenda Stark said tax-holiday business was better than anticipated.

"I didn't expect much of a difference because most of what we sell is clothes, and clothes aren't taxed anyway," Stark said. "But we did sell more jewelry and expensive handbags."

Stark noted her business is divided by brands into three storefronts, and among the trio, the high-end store performed best.