Shoppers ready for tax-free weekend

Starting today through Sunday, shoppers can take advantage of the 5th annual tax free holiday weekend, the once a year chance to avoid the 5 percent Massachusetts sales tax while stocking up on big ticket items as well as small necessities.Amid high gas prices and a consumer cash crunch, state officials are hoping customers will come out in droves to give retailers a much-needed boost.The tax will be waived on most goods that cost $2,500 or less, but will still be in force, however, on motor vehicles, meals, gas, tobacco products, as well as airline tickets and sporting events.So while you won’t be able to save money on that new Jaguar, you can save a bundle on items such as TV’s and computers.Frank Schroeder, operations manager at Best Buy at the Square One Mall in Saugus said he and his employees are gearing up for one busy weekend.”It’s sort of like the day after Thanksgiving, only two days in a row,” he said. “So, I’ve been telling people to get here early in the morning to beat the rush.”Schroeder said he is prepared for the big two days at the store with an extra large staff on hand all weekend to make sure all customers have a pleasant, and of course, helpful shopping experience.”We have a lot of TV’s – LCD, plasmas, all kinds, and some of the TV’s are 70 inches, but of course you can only get the tax off items $2,500 and under,” he said. “But we’re not going to have any other special deals going on?just the tax free deal.”There is a slight catch when it comes to purchasing bundled goods such as computer packages that include a computer, monitor and printer, because they only qualify for the tax exemption if the price of the entire package is less than $2,500.Prior sales and layaway items do not qualify, and for coupon items, the sales tax applies only if the post-deduction amount is more than $2,500. For coupons applied to total purchases, the discount is pro-rated for each item sold.To put the potential savings in perspective, if an article of clothing is $2,500, you would receive a $125 deduction on the sales tax.While shoppers are rejoicing in the tax break, not everyone is happy about it.Opponents say the tax holiday robs the state of about $16 million in revenues that could be spent on other programs, and that consumers could save more during a regular sale.