Tax holidays generate little excitement in Barre

BARRE, Vt.—Shoppers and merchants along the city's Main Street on Friday seemed unsure about the idea of two sales tax holidays set for next month, while a Bradford appliance dealer said he looked forward to a boost in sales.

The reactions came after Gov. Jim Douglas signed into law a bill calling for a two-day elimination of the state's 6 percent sales tax on July 12 and 13 on items costing less than $2,000, followed by a sales tax holiday July 14-18 on Energy Star-rated appliances in that same price range.

"These sales tax holidays are really a win-win-win," Douglas said. "We boost Vermont’s economy, provide a measure of relief to hard-pressed residents, and encourage investment in long-term energy conservation."

In Barre, talk about the sales tax holiday was more subdued.

"It's an acceptable Band-Aid, I guess," said Ray Gentl, owner of Goodfellows jewelry store. "I think any stimulus package is welcome. But I don't think it's going to be the be-all and end-all to what we've got for problems."

Gentl he had been feeling a downturn in his business for the last two years, and that it had gotten worse recently as people become worried about rising fuel and other prices and have less disposable income.

"Are you going to feed your family or are you going to buy a diamond ring?" the jeweler asked.

Several people said they hadn't heard much -- or at all -- about the sales tax holidays.

One of those was 19-year-old Shannon Woodcock, a student at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who was home for the summer and working in a photography shop. She said a sales tax holiday likely "would make me buy something that day rather than wait. I'll take a day without taxes."

Annette Boisvert and Bob Nelson, manager and owner, respectively, of Nelson Ace Hardware, said they hadn't heard much if any chatter from customers about the coming sales tax holidays. They said they hoped to see a bump up in sales of big-ticket items like gas grills and high-end kitchen mixers.

But Warren McClure, a 42-year-old computer network manager, said as he shopped at the hardware store that he didn't think the money he might save in sales taxes would come close to offsetting a nasty tax surprise he'd gotten recently.

President of a nonprofit, startup radio station called Vermont Christian Radio, McClure said his group had learned late in their founding process that due to recent tax law changes, their studio and antenna would not be exempt from property taxes as they had expected. That has turned out to be a $1,900 annual expense.

"Everybody likes to save money, but let's be consistent," McClure said. "It seems to be "give to one, take from the other'."

Twenty-five miles southeast in Bradford, David Perry said he had heard from customers of his appliance business about the sales tax holiday, and that he saw it as a good thing.

"We've had dozens of people in already, looking at appliances and telling us they're waiting for that weekend," he said. Bradford is just across the Connecticut River from sales-tax-free New Hampshire, and Perry said Vermont's sales tax had been troublesome to him for a long time.

He said he didn't blame customers who might decide to wait until the sales tax holidays to buy such big-ticket items. "Six percent on a kitchen full of appliances can be quite a chunk of change," Perry said.

At Sam's Outdoor Outfitters in Brattleboro, Brad Borofsky, who owns the business with his father, said he hoped the public would not be confused by talk of a sales tax holiday. The store's "soft goods" -- clothing and shoes, for example -- are always tax-free.

"We're hoping that this (the sales tax holiday) doesn't imply to people that there are taxes on all of our items all the time," Borofsky said.

But he said he would be glad to see customers of the store's "hard goods" -- everything from kayaks to backpacks and camp stoves -- getting a break. The same family has a store in Keene, N.H., Borofsky noted. "We'll have people come in here, find a kayak they like, and then go over to Keene to pick it up," he said.

On one weekend this summer, a kayak customer like that will be able to save the gas it takes to make the nearly one-hour round trip.