Tax-free shopping weekends have been a back-to-school tradition in many states for years. More and more states are doing away with these holidays, though. Here’s why.


Some states have tax-free shopping holidays where they exempt certain items from state sales tax. During the back-to-school season, these items are typically clothing, uniforms, and supplies. Massachusetts is the latest state to nix the holiday, and in the past few years, Kansas, North Carolina, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Wisconsin have also put an end to tax-free weekends. Bloomberg explains:

Officials in Massachusetts decided not to reinstate the state’s sales tax holiday this August due to slowing state revenue, said Democratic legislator Stanley Rosenberg, who is president of the Massachusetts Senate. The state has struggled to maintain government services due to rising health-care costs, he said. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue estimated the state lost about $25.5 million from the holiday in 2015. This lowered the amount of money given to a trust fund for school construction by about $4 million, the department said in a Dec. 31 letter to the state’s comptroller.


They cite a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic policy that outlined a few problems with tax holidays in general. They say states lose out on the revenue and then have to make up for it elsewhere, for example. They also argue that the holiday favors wealthier households that can afford to delay purchases. (Although one might argue that wealthier households don’t really need the holiday to begin with, though.) Either way, the report shows the remaining tax holidays across the country. You can read more about it at the links below.

Tax-Free Back-to-School Shopping Over as States Cancel Reprieves | Bloomberg via Consumerist