Lawmakers: Let Sellers Absorb Sales-Tax Holiday

Staff reportsiBerkshires
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LENOX, Mass. — There'll be no sales tax holiday this August but lawmakers are looking at other ways to give residents a tax break.

An attempt to resurrect the 4-year-old holiday — actually a weekend — died last week in the Legislature. The state's seen a massive drop in revenue over the past year because of the economic crisis and passed new legislation to increase the sales tax by 25 percent, up to 6.25 percent from 5 percent, to help plug a billion-dollar deficit going into the new fiscal year.

About $14.9 million in sales tax was exempted last year. There was no way a tax holiday was going to occur this year. But if sellers are willing to absorb the tax cost, why not let them, say legislators.

State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, was one of 50 co-sponsors last week of legislation that would allow vendors to advertise that they would pay or absorb the sales tax on purchases.

Under current law, it is illegal for vendors to advertise in this manner. Recent advertising, whether on radio, or through the print media, have been prevalent where vendors announce "We will pay your sales tax" or "Sales tax in on the house." Under Chapter 64H, Section 23 of the General Laws, a $100 fine can be assessed to the vendor for each occasion they advertise this way.


"Many vendors and business owners have approached their elected officials saying they are interested in advertising that they would be willing to pay the sales tax on purchases to entice customers which in turn would increase sales," said Pignatelli. "It shouldn't matter who pays the sales tax as long as it is paid to the commonwealth."

The legislation filed by Rep. John F. Quinn of Dartmouth would repeal Chapter 64H, Section 23. The legislation that was filed with the House Clerk also puts the responsibility on the vendors, who advertise this way, to pay the full amount of the tax due by the purchaser.

"Due to the current fiscal condition of the commonwealth, it was unfeasible to have a sales tax holiday this year," said Pignatelli. "It is our hope that this legislation will attract consumers with tax discounts on purchases that ultimately will be absorbed by the vendor."

Update: The House leadership isn't backing the bill so it's unlikely to pass in time for an August sales weekend.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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