Mass. House Democrats Block Plans For Sales/Meals Tax Holiday
A Republican effort to establish an annual meals tax holiday in March and sales tax holiday in August was thwarted Monday by House Democrats on Beacon Hill.
Rep. Shaunna O’Connell (R-Taunton) pushed a budget amendment making the third Saturday and Sunday of August a sales tax holiday. Rep. Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman) also filed a measure to make the week of March 22 each year a break from the state meals tax, the Boston Business Journal reports. The state’s brick-and-mortar retailers have suffered from the rise in tax-free online purchasing and are considering a push for a 2018 ballot question to reduce the current 6.25% sales tax rate.
House Democrats pushed to further study the issue before creating the holiday. O’Connell said she should have been able to predict the tabling when her amendment was numbered 666.
