Heartlander: As States Mull Sales Tax Holidays, Analysts Bemoan the Policy

Heather Kays from River Edge, New Jersey.

Meg Wiehe, policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said 16 to 20 states hold similar tax holidays as a way to increase sales, and none of the anticipated economic goals are achieved.

“The policy intent was that there’s a time of year that families had a need to get prepared for school and this is a way of giving them a break,” said Wiehe. “In practice that is not entirely how they work.”

Wiehe said families spend the same amount on necessary items with or without the tax holiday.

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