Consumers can purchase energy efficient appliances, and not pay the 6% sales tax.
Annapolis, Md. (KM) – Maryland’s Shop Energy Weekend takes place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, February 19th, 20th and 21st. Comptroller Peter Franchot says during that time, sales of energy efficient appliances are exempt from the sales tax. “Energy savings appliances that are purchased, you don’t have to pay the 6%n sales tax you normally have to. This is everything: boilers, heat pumps, furnaces, washer-dryers,” he says.
The Comptroller’s Office says these appliances purchased in stores must bear the ENERGY STAR label, and can be purchased in-store or online. Other appliances include air conditioners, standard size refrigerators, compact fluorescent light bulbs (not LED), dehumidifiers and programmatic thermostats.
In addition to not paying the sales tax for those three days, Franchot says consumers could also save in other ways. “And on top of that, the stores often put on their own discounts,” he says. “And now the manufacturers of these energy-efficient appliances they’re also putting discounts on for this weekend.”
Franchot says the state will lose approximately $800,000 in sales tax revenue during the three-day period, but it will also gain. “The state doesn’t really lose any tax revenue, even though we’re giving $800,000 to people who purchase these energy efficient appliances because there’s just a lot of additional shopping that goes on once people are out,” he says. That includes purchases of products which are subject to Maryland’s 6% sales tax.
Since it began in 2011, Franchot says the Shop Maryland Energy Weekend has been “wildly popular.”
By Kevin McManus