Clothing and Footwear Now Less Expensive for State Shoppers

Regardless of whether New Yorkers know it, shopping for clothing has become a tad cheaper in stores across the state: The 4% state sales tax on items costing less than $110 disappeared this weekend.

The elimination of the levy went into effect Saturday after the proposal to do so was passed last year. The state removed the city's portion of the sales tax last year, meaning clothing and footwear costing less than $110 are now tax-free. The speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver, appeared at the Century 21 department store in Lower Manhattan yesterday to publicize the change, which had gone unnoticed by some customers.

"This is designed to help working men and women in New York make ends meet," Mr. Silver said.

Since 1998, the elimination of the clothing sales tax had been limited to annual "tax-free" weeks in January and August that served as trials for the permanent change and were intended to boost "back to school" sales. Governor Pataki had pushed to extend the tax, but lawmakers in both the Assembly and the Senate ignored the request in the budget passed on Friday.

The move will cost the state an estimated $600 million in annual revenue, Mr. Silver said. "But we believe we will generate sufficient economic activity to make up for a lot of that or most of that," he added.

Proponents of eradicating the tax said the move would keep New Yorkers from taking field trips to New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania to do their clothes shopping, and Mr. Silver said the change would provide an added incentive for out-of-state residents to shop in the city.

The head of governmental operations at Century 21, Betty Cohen, hailed the tax break, calling it a "permanent sale for the residents of New York."

Many customers were not aware of the change when they entered the store this weekend, Ms. Cohen said. When they found out, she said, "It was like we were giving things away for free."

The lack of a clothing sales tax was news to Alex Cole, 30, who had come down from Morningside Heights to shop for shirts. "Sounds good to me," he said.

Mr. Silver urged state shoppers to make sure their purchases aren't taxed by accident. Customers who were charged the 4% tax should contact the state Department of Taxation and Finance to find out how to get their money back, he said.