D.C. Tax Holidays Die

District of Columbia shoppers anticipating a break on sales tax next month will be disappointed. The sales tax holidays that gave consumers tax-free shopping each August and November are gone.

Former D.C. Council member Carol Schwartz (R) introduced the two tax holidays in June 2001 during a more robust economy. Consumers could spend up to $100 on clothing, shoes, accessories and back-to-school supplies without paying the District's 5.75 percent sales tax. The summer tax holidays occurred from the first Saturday through the second Sunday of August.

The nine-day November sales tax holidays, which applied only to sales of clothing, shoes and accessories, started annually on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and among the biggest shopping days of the Christmas season.

The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation June 30 that repealed the two sales tax holidays. The move had been planned since March as part of a larger effort by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to balance the fiscal 2010 budget through taxes and user fees.

According to the Office of Tax and Revenue, the District lost about $1.3 million a year on the tax holidays.

The agency sent advisories to radio stations and business publications warning retailers not to advertise a sales tax holiday this year and to program their cash registers to include the tax.

"I believe that we have used a lot of avenues to alert retailers that there will not be a tax holiday," agency spokeswoman Natalie Wilson said.

August is typically a slow month for retailers. Lewis Tippograph, owner of Kid's Closet, a children's clothing and toy store near Dupont Circle, said he thinks the tax holidays were beneficial.

"With the current economy, maybe people feel a little savings would help," Tippograph said. "Maybe before, they were more willing to spend. Now, we'll just have to see."