West Seattle Junction merchants plan “Tax-Free Day for All” sale

Once again this year, West Seattle Junction merchants are planning a one-day “tax-free sale” right after tax-filing season. The “Junction’s Tax-Free Day For All” sale, announced this afternoon, will be Saturday, April 17; like last year, participants will display red balloons so you know who’s participating, but you don’t have to wait till then to find out; the list of participants is on the West Seattle Junction Association website here, and some are offering coupons (you’ll see those here). Some participants plan in-store specials and discounts, too. Sale hours on April 17th will be 10 am-6 pm. (WSB photo from April 2009)

Dale Roose April 3, 2010 (2:21 am)

Sure, I’m probably mistaken, but I seem to remember that advertising “tax free” sales when sales tax collection is required by law constitutes at least a technical violation of the Uniform Commercial Code. The logic, I believe, is that one way or another the tax will be paid and one way or another it will ultimately be paid by the consumer suggesting that the ad would be arguably deceptive. Nevertheless, I’ve seen this form of advertising used often and never heard any complaints.

As an interesting aside, the State of Georgia has apparently had sales tax holidays at the end of summer in which sales tax is not collected on various school supplies from paper, pens, and sneakers to moderately priced computers.

Smitty April 3, 2010 (7:19 am)

It’s basically ~10% off, right?

Not a bad promotion.

Only problem is that it’s not FAIR! If a rich guy from Admiral buys a $10,000 living room set he saves $1,000 while the poor guy from Westwood only saves .20 cents on his latte!

Help us Obama!

Meghan April 3, 2010 (8:19 am)

It’s a cute promotion, but let’s face it, it’s not even quite 10% off. Yes, Smitty, your example demonstrates precisely why WA State has one of the most regressive tax systems (big sales tax, no income tax) in the nation. Our neighbor to the south is just the opposite (no sales tax and progressive income tax) and people seem to survive just fine. But the minute Gov. Gregoire uttered the words “income tax”, she was maligned from both sides (esp. rich, powerful Republicans) and had to immediately back off. The rich and powerful never seem to mind the unfairness of the poor paying a high sales tax (even on the most basic needs) while they pay no state income tax on their extremely high incomes. Sooo… it is what it is, I guess.

Smitty April 3, 2010 (10:07 am)

Those darn rich people need to pay more! The top 10 percent paying 60 percent of taxes is a crime I tell you, an absolute crime! (They earn 40 percent of the income).

Save us great one, save us!!!!!

rockhills April 17, 2010 (11:24 am)

It would probably be more technically accurate for businesses to state that they are paying the sales tax for purchases made today, but that doesn’t have quite the same ring from a marketing perspective, does it?

And, as always, if you don’t think it’s a good enough deal for you, you can choose not to buy nonessentials (since food isn’t taxed) from those businesses today, and take your business somewhere where you can pay the sales tax.

Sorry, comment time is over.