(Washington, DC) The Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) invites shoppers to start the back to school shopping season in DC Main Street neighborhood business districts. The “DC Main Streets Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday” marketing campaign promotes shopping in nine neighborhood business districts during the District-wide Sales Tax Holiday, which runs from Friday, August 4, through Sunday, August 12, 2007.
“The tax holiday is a win for shoppers, merchants and the city,” says DSLBD Director Erik A. Moses. “It is an incentive brings shoppers to the businesses in our neighborhoods and it keeps the dollars in our city.”
Shoppers are exempt from paying the 5.75% sales tax for shoes, clothing, accessories and school supplies purchased from DC merchants over the 10 day shopping period. The exemption applies to each eligible item that individually costs $100 or less, regardless of how many items are sold to a customer. It will also apply to layaway sales if the retailer and customer enter into a layaway agreement or the customer makes the final payment on the layaway order during the exemption period.
DC Main Streets is a program of DSLBD’s reSTORE DC, which has worked since 2002 to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts and help small businesses. The nine participating DC Main Streets programs, which offer unique shops and products, are:
- Main Street Anacostia
- Adams Morgan Main Street
- Barracks Row Main Street
- Historic Brookland Main Street
- GATEWAY Georgia Avenue
- Historic Dupont Circle Main Street
- Shaw Main Street
- Mount Pleasant Main Street
- H Street Main Street
The DC Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, which is administered by the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), is designed to encourage consumers to purchase eligible items in the District of Columbia. The exemption holiday from sales tax began in 2001, and is a popular semi-annual event. The next tax holiday will be November 23 through December 2. The estimated fiscal impact for fiscal year 2007 is $1.14 million for both holidays.
To learn more about DSLBD’s reSTORE DC and the DC Main Streets program, call (202) 478-1356 or visit http://dslbd.dc.gov . Select the link below for the Office of Tax and Revenue details.