Massachusetts set to hold another sales tax holiday this summer

Massachusetts will hold its annual sales tax holiday weekend on Saturday, Aug. 10 and Sunday, Aug. 11, after the state legislature approved a resolution. During the annual tax holiday weekend, the state will suspend collection of the 6.25 percent sales tax on most items that cost less than $2,500. Over the years, public officials have settled on holding the holiday in August in a bid to ramp up shopping during a lighter period for some retailers and to give families savings on back-to-school expenses.The holiday does not apply to purchases of motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, marijuana products, telecommunications services like prepaid calls, natural gas, steam or electricity.The annual tax holiday enables shoppers to avoid the sales tax on many purchases, although critics say it doesn't generate much new economic activity and merely shifts consumer buying patterns. According to the Department of Revenue, the 2023 sales tax holiday generated indirect tax revenues of $3.54 million.According to the State House News Service, the Department of Revenue said the holiday resulted in about $36.94 million in forgone sales tax revenue for the state — $24.23 million of which would have gone into the general fund, $6.75 million into the MBTA State and Local Contribution Fund, and $5.9 million into the School Modernization and Reconstruction Trust Fund.Information from the State House News Service was used in this report.