Extended Holiday tax Massachusetts

Massachusetts lawmakers appear to be preparing for an extended holiday from the sales tax holiday.

With marginal improvements seen in state revenue and questions over whether a badly-needed influx of federal Medicaid funds will come through, the Legislature isn’t in any rush to approve a sales tax holiday bill this year.

This is around the time of the year when store managers in Massachusetts start wondering if they’re going to need to get ready for a sales tax holiday weekend in August. There are usually some necessary preparations, if even just to make sure the store is properly staffed for the throngs of shoppers that will (hopefully) show up.

The Legislature and Gov. Deval L. Patrick should consider calls to hold a tax holiday in August but only if revenues stabilize and the state can justify forfeiting as much as $15 million in taxes. But the Retailers Association of Massachusetts thinks conditions are more favorable this time around for the popular holiday. The trade group revived its annual June ritual of asking its membership to call lawmakers and urge them to approve a tax holiday. The group wants the Legislature to set aside Saturday, Aug. 14, and Sunday, Aug. 15, for the sales-tax-free event.

Last August, retail sales fall an average of 30 percent below August 2008 for Retailers’ Association of Massachusetts members, following five years of growth for the month, said the group’s president, Jon Hurst.