TO BOOST LOCAL SHOPPING DURING COVID-19 CRISIS, BP ADAMS, BUSINESS LEADERS CALL FOR LOCAL “SALES TAX HOLIDAY FOR THE HOLIDAYS” ON BLACK FRIDAY

Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, city business leaders, and local business owners called for a local “sales tax holiday for the holidays” on Black Friday, saying the City and State must do everything possible to encourage New Yorkers to shop locally during the COVID-19 crisis. Borough President Adams joined the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District (BID), and employees of Moshood Creations, a Black-owned clothing store in Bedford-Stuyvesant, to push the tax-free proposal as New Yorkers considered their purchases on what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

“The pandemic has devastated local businesses and the New Yorkers who depend on them to provide for their families,” said Borough President Adams. “The City of New York should create a local sales tax holiday for the holidays in order to boost our local businesses at this difficult time and remind New Yorkers of the value in shopping locally. Lifting the sales tax will also keep money in the pockets of New Yorkers at a time when they need it the most.”

New York City imposes a 4.5 percent sales tax on most goods and services. If the State authorized the tax holiday, the City could then apply the break. Noting the need to prioritize our small businesses and the workers who keep them going over government excess, Borough President Adams noted that this break is affordable through his months-long call for Mayor de Blasio to implement Programs to Eliminate the Gap (PEGs) and reduce agency budgets by 5-10 percent, primarily by not replacing staff that are departing to retire or to take other jobs. Additionally, to prioritize small business shopping that is primarily in-person versus online, Borough President Adams recommended the State remove the sales tax exemption on digital goods such as eBooks and movie downloads; 29 states and the District of Columbia generally tax digital goods.

“Our small businesses are reeling, and we need government to step up with initiatives that encourage New Yorkers to shop locally,” said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Randy Peers. “A sales tax holiday will increase spending in the city, helping to keep small businesses up-and-running and their employees employed.”

“Businesses are closing every day during this crisis, leading to higher unemployment and greater costs to the City and State,” said Bronx Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Sorin. “Dropping the sales tax during this difficult period will draw customers to our small businesses, keeping our economy afloat and protecting working families from devastation.”

“At this tough time for New Yorkers, when every dollar counts, we have to do what we can to reduce their costs so that they can keep spending on local goods and services,” said Manhattan Chamber of Commerce President Jessica Walker. “This tax break will reinvigorate our local economy by giving New Yorkers and visitors a reason to shop here for the holidays.”

“We have already lost so many small businesses, and so many others are on life support—government needs to give them a lift,” said Queens Chamber of Commerce Tom Grech. “Dropping the sales tax for the holiday season will save businesses and prevent working families from facing economic disaster.”

Borough President Adams also expressed his support for an extension of the City’s Open Storefronts program beyond the current expiration date of Thursday, December 31^st. The initiative allows existing ground-floor storefront businesses that want to use outdoor areas on a temporary basis to do so on sidewalks, on roadways through the Open Streets: Restaurants program, or a combination of both.