Tax on apparels, shoes to return

11 Aug '10

2 min read

Although, the Albany's sales tax exemption on apparels and footwear that, costs $110 or less will soon end, but not till October 1.

The temporary recall of the 4 percent tax is part of the state budget, which was passed early this week by the State Legislature. But the exemption was already present since 2007. Most of the users might have missed the saving, opine retail officials and this is because most locales continued to impose their own sales tax on the exempted products.

As per Ted Potrikus, Executive Vice President and Director of government relations for the Retail Council of New York State, saving of 4 percent on purchase of apparels of shoes is a meaningful saving.

More over, the effective date of October 1 will also help parents from paying the tax, when they go ahead with their back-to-school shopping, opined Potrikus.

However, department store owners are of a different opinion. According to one, the tax is likely to have an impact on the Christmas sales. He is also worried about the recall of the tax, as he feels it will push more shoppers to nearby places like Vermont and Massachusetts, wherein there is no sales tax on apparels.

Retail or outlet stores and shopping centres have expanded in places like Lee, Manchester, Vermont and Massachusetts, which are about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours from Albany.

Although, the exemption will resume in steps, starting from April 1, 2011, wherein apparels and shoes costing $55 or less will be exempted, and by April 1, 2012, threshold will come back to $110, and they would be back to square one; retailers will still have to scrape through the holidays, informed Potrikus.

More over, retailers are already eyeing at modest sales projections, and hence, Potrikus is keen on seeing how the reinstatement of the tax affects holiday shopping this year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India

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