Sanchez brushes off Baker’s call for sales tax holiday
The new chairman of the state House Ways and Means Committee pushed back against Gov. Charlie Baker’s call for a sales tax holiday this month, pointing to uncertainty on how much money will be flowing into state coffers.
“We are on tough ground right now, we are on tough ground,” state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez told the Herald. “We want to make sure we are living up to everything we have to and making sure we are investing in everything we are supposed to be investing in.”
Baker yesterday submitted a bill to suspend the 6.25 percent sales tax for the weekend of Aug. 19-20 on most items priced at $2,500 or less, saying it is “a much-needed break and supports business across the commonwealth for our hardworking retailers.”
Amid budget shortfalls, the stage Legislature skipped the sales tax holiday last year after losing out on more than $25 million in sales tax revenue during the tax-free weekend in 2015.
Sanchez referenced a statement made yesterday by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who cited “unpredicted revenue shortfalls,” and said it made “little sense” for Baker to file his bill at this time with similar measures already in committee.
“There is a lot going on right now,” Sanchez said. “We are still getting a handle on June revenue numbers, we don’t know what July is going to look like, August. And not only that, the impending cloud before us of what the Trump administration (and) what Congress is thinking about. So there’s a lot before us right now.”
Sanchez (D-Jamaica Plain) took over leadership of the budget-writing panel last month after the surprise resignation of Haverhill Rep. Brian Dempsey. Sanchez said the next month heading into the fall legislative session will be spent with his new staff reviewing proposals put forth by Baker, including curbing spending on Mass-Health.