August 1, 2005
The District vs. Delaware, Round 1
Eat it, Delaware.
It may only be for one week, but District officials have found a way to remind our coastal neighbor to the northeast who's boss -- tax-free shopping. The District has proudly announced that the usual 5.75 percent sales tax will be waived on all items under $100 from August 6-14. Though the initiative is supposed to benefit parents who get an early start on back to school shopping (is summer really almost over?), it may help the District stem the mass exodus of residents and workers that is often indicative of August.
Delaware, a mere hop and skip up I-95, is well known for advertising itself as the "Home of Tax-Free Shopping," though four other states -- Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon -- similarly do not levy a tax on sales. And while the District will join that distinguished list, if ever so briefly, we still suffer from the 11th highest tax burden in the nation -- and no representatives in Congress to boot.
Happy shopping!
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Then of course you have all the states that don't tax everything the same way. Like N.J. that doesn't tax food or clothing. Or Calif. that doesn't tax to-go foods or unprepared food at the grocery store (so you could get noodles, meat and tomato sauce tax free, but if you bought a Stoffers frozen dinner, than you'd be taxed, unless you had it to go from the salad bar... Yeah, it's a bitch working in cafe's out there. Always ask for your coffee to-go.)
"Eat it, Delaware"
Love the intro
GA already had their annual tax-free weekend and SC has one this weekend.
And while the District will join that distinguished list, if ever so briefly, we still suffer from the 11th highest tax burden in the nation -- and no representatives in Congress to boot.
But please don't confuse the two issues - sales taxes are set at the city/county/state level, not Federal.
Does the district not set its own income tax level?
I'm interested in where the "11th highest tax burden" comes from. Is it compared to states or smaller municipalities?