S3381

An Act establishing an annual four-day exemption period after Thanksgiving under the sales and use tax for retail sales of tangible personal property and supplementing P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. Receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property are exempt from the tax imposed under the “Sales and Use Tax Act,” P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) if the property is sold during the exemption period.

b. As used in this section:

“Exemption period” means the period of time between 12:01 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving and 11:59 p.m. on the Monday after Thanksgiving of each year.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury may adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law, such regulations as the director deems necessary to implement the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and to maintain compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which regulations shall be effective for a period not to exceed 180 days from the date of the filing. The regulations may therefore be amended, adopted, or readopted by the director as the director deems necessary in accordance with P.L.1968, c.410.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes an annual four-day New Jersey sales tax holiday to cover the popular, early seasonal shopping days after Thanksgiving. The sales tax holiday will extend from what has been called “Black Friday,” and include that Saturday, also known as “Small Business Saturday, the next day of Sunday, and extend through what has been termed “Cyber Monday.

Black Friday is a colloquial term for the Friday after Thanksgiving. It traditionally marks the start of the Holiday shopping season. Many stores offer highly promoted sales at discounted prices and often open early, sometimes as early as midnight. Small Business Saturday is an American shopping holiday held during the Saturday after Thanksgiving during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. It is always the last Saturday in November.

Starting in 2010 and officially cosponsored by Small Business Administration since 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an important part of small businesses’ holiday shopping season. Small businesses create local jobs and pay local taxes, which keeps money circulating within communities. By doing their shopping at local small businesses, customers can directly support their neighbors and help benefit their local economies. Shopping small for the holidays can also be environmentally friendly. When locally owned businesses locally source raw materials or manufactured products, it reduces the distance that goods travel, and often involve less packaging making for a smaller carbon footprint. Local retailers' websites and social media pages often promote special store offerings, hours and event announcements in the days leading up to Small Business Saturday.

Cyber Monday is the marketing term for e-commerce transactions on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online and offers a way for smaller retail websites to compete with larger chains. Beginning in 2005, it has become the largest online shopping day of the year.