Holiday from taxes is given an extension
House lawmakers yesterday agreed to extend the state's tax holiday, making the tax-free shopping day in August into a weekend so that observant Jews who don't shop on Saturdays can also take advantage of the holiday.
''It's only fair to give them a day where they could participate," said Representative John J. Binienda, Democrat of Worcester, one of the chairmen of the Joint Committee on Revenue.
Earlier this month, the House had approved Saturday, Aug. 13, as the state's tax holiday, and sent it on to the Senate.
But after observant Jews complained that they had missed out on the benefits of the holiday last year because they do not shop on their Sabbath, Senators opted to make it a two-day affair. The House voted 145-to-7 to approve that change.
After a procedural vote by the Senate, the bill will land on Governor Mitt Romney's desk. His spokeswoman, Julie Teer, said the governor is supportive, but wants to review the legislation.
Binienda said the state would probably lose about $15 million in sales tax over the two days, but would make it up on taxes on other goods.
On the holiday, shoppers don't have to pay the state's 5 percent sales tax on purchases of $2,500 or less. The goal is to help give the state's economy a jolt during a slow shopping month. In last year's first tax-free day, shoppers spent about $400 million.
In other action yesterday, lawmakers overrode almost all of Romney's budget vetoes restoring about $109 million in spending.
When Romney signed the budget in late June, he praised it as fiscally responsible, balanced and on time, but struck down $110 million in spending he deemed unnecessary or wasteful.
The House and Senate restored $43 million for state Medicaid funding for nursing homes, $4 million for a new Office of Travel and Tourism, and a $100,000 funding increase for the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.
Lawmakers also returned to the budget $15 million to reduce health care premiums paid by state employees. The extra funding will cut the employee contribution to their health insurance premiums from 25 percent to 15 percent of the cost.
Lawmakers let stand Romney's veto of a $75 fee that sexual offenders would have been required to pay when they registered with the state. The administration said the fee would have discouraged offenders from registering.
