Posted Aug. 6, 2004.
There will be no sales tax on clothing, shoes, accessories and school supplies in D.C. stores from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15, the D.C. Council announced in late July.
This temporary drop of the sales tax will save consumers 5.7 percent in their purchases, but may only be applied to individual items costing less than $100. Textbooks will still be taxed.
A sales tax-free week first happened in August 2001 in order to allow D.C. stores to compete with the suburbs, according to John Abbot, chief of staff for D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz. It was also instated in 2002 and the Council plans for it to occur every August and for 10 days after Thanksgiving from now on, although the holiday break will not apply to school supplies.
The sales tax drop is applied because it will affect poor and rich people equally and will help low-income families prepare their children for school, according to Abbot. The policy is also enacted to help keep shoppers in the District, which has been a problem since 9/11, specifically during heightened terror alerts, like now.
Meanwhile, stores around the city are preparing for a sales rush.
"We do expect heightened sales because of it ... we're already well staffed for it," said William Lawry, store manager for H&M clothing store in Georgetown.
Some AU students say that they may take advantage of the sales tax drop, while others say it wouldn't affect their spending behavior.
Based on the items that will be tax free, Cheryl Prendeville, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, says it will "probably" affect the way she shops, but she is unsure if she will actually go. She says she only buys the affected products - clothes, accessories and school supplies - every few months.
