Senator Stavisky: Sales Tax Exemption on Clothing and Shoes a Victory For Middle Class

Senator Stavisky (D-Flushing) reported that New Yorkers will no longer have to pay the State sales tax on purchases of clothing and footwear $110 or less, as of April 1 of this year. On that date, New York joined Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont in exempting clothing from the sales tax base.

"The Senate Minority have worked for years on this very important piece of tax relief," said Senator Stavisky. "We promised the people of this state that we would eliminate this sales tax and we made good on that promise.

"New Yorkers can shop with confidence, knowing that they will be able to keep more money in their pockets," Senator Stavisky said. "At the same time, stores should benefit from an influx of shoppers who will be taking advantage of their increased buying power. More importantly, the money spent by consumers and received by storeowners will remain here in New York, instead of going over the border to New Jersey."

In 2003 Governor Pataki suspended the sales tax exemption, and since then the Senate Minority has fought to have it reinstated. For the last three years, the Governor sought to replace the exemption with two sales tax-free shopping weeks in this year’s budget.

"The Governor’s proposal was actually a tax increase, costing working families more than $600 million over time," Senator Stavisky said. "What I have been saying for years is that those hardest hit by the sales tax are the ones who could least afford it. Because the sales tax is not based upon ability to pay, it is considered a regressive tax."

"A family with an income of less than $15,000 a year pays 9.5% of their income in sales tax," said Senator Stavisky. "On the other hand, the top one percent of taxpayers with incomes over $634,000 pay only 1.2% of their income in sales tax. That’s not fair and it’s why my colleagues and I never gave up the fight to permanently lift the State sales tax. I am proud of our efforts to ensure that hardworking New Yorkers get the tax relief they deserve."