Tax Exempt Shopping Week Aug 15-21

FARMINGTON — Parents will benefit next week when the state suspends its sales tax August 15-21 for back-to-school shopping.

Items costing up to $300 each will be exempt from the state’s six percent sales tax. Items that cost up to $50 each are exempt year-round from the tax.

Statistics indicate that retailers score large sales increases during the week the sales tax is dropped, and decline afterward when the tax reappears.  The state did not hold the annual weeklong holiday last year, when Connecticut faced a major budget deficit. With a small surplus this year, lawmakers decided to hold one this year.

Twelve states and Washington, D.C., have enacted the tax holiday, including neighboring New York and Massachusetts, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.