Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Archive
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Massachusetts' annual sales tax holiday is this weekend from Aug. 8 to Aug. 9. That means most retail purchases up to $2,500 will be sales tax free.
The sales tax in the state is 6.25%. The tax holiday only applies to purchases for personal use, not purchases for business use.
While many items qualify, the state said a number of items are still taxable: meals, motor vehicles, motorboats, telecommunication services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, marijuana and marijuana products, and alcoholic beverages.
Tax-free weekend is sometimes thought of as a good time to make a big purchases. But because of rising costs, some shoppers in Somerville's Assembly Row Friday morning said they would prefer if the tax holiday applied to everyday essentials like gas and food.
"We're not really buying anything special right now. We're really just focusing on day-to-day expenses unless my children need something in particular, but that hasn't come up recently," one woman said.
One man said the tax holiday would help "on basics," but "tax free really doesn't matter" if you're shopping for "things that you really don't need."
WBZ NewsRadio's Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.