Date: July 31, 2008 From: DC Government Consumers Can Shop Tax Free in DC from August 2-10 |
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(Washington,
DC) Just in time for back-to-school shopping, the District of
Columbia will offer buyers an exemption from the 5.75 percent sales tax
for school supplies, clothing, shoes, and accessory items costing $100
or less. The Sales Tax holiday will begin 12:01 am Saturday, August 2,
through midnight Sunday, August 10. “The temporary suspension of the city’s sales tax allows us to help families reduce the burden of buying back-to-school supplies, while benefitting our local businesses,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “I invite our residents and neighbors from around the region to take advantage of the great retail opportunities in the District during our annual summer sales tax holiday.” “Everybody – not just back-to-school shoppers – can save during this great opportunity to shop tax-free in DC,” said Council member Carol Schwartz, whose legislation created the District’s tax-free holidays. “No matter how much you spend on clothing, accessories, footwear and school supplies, as long as each item costs $100 or less, there will be no sales tax to pay.” The sales tax exemption will apply to each eligible item regardless of how many items are sold on the same bill to a customer. It will also apply to layaway sales if the retailer and customer enter into a layaway agreement or the customer makes the final payment on the layaway order during the exemption period. Stephen M. Cordi, deputy chief financial officer for the Office of Tax and Revenue, reminds retailers who use the Sales and Use tax forms for filing their monthly or annual tax returns to enter the total amount of tax exempted due to the Sales Tax holiday, along with any other exempt taxes, on line 13 of the sales tax portion of the return. A second tax holiday will be in November, beginning the weekend following Thanksgiving. The estimated fiscal impact for fiscal year 2008 is $1.19 million for both holidays. For more information about the Sales Tax holiday, visit OTR’s Web site at www.taxpayerservicecenter.com under “Sales Tax Holiday” or call OTR’s Customer Service Center at (202) 727-4TAX (4829).
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