VIDEO: Comptroller Comes to Rockville to Promote Tax-Free Weekend

Comptroller Peter Franchot visited Best Buy in Rockville on Thursday to promote Maryland’s tax-free weekend for Energy Star appliances.

On President’s Day weekend, Feb. 19-21, the following energy-efficient appliances marked with the Energy Star label will be sold free of the state’s 6 percent sales tax:

• Air conditioners.
• Clothes washers and dryers.
• Furnaces.
• Heat pumps.
• Boilers.
• Solar water heaters, which are tax-free year-round.
• Standard-size refrigerators.
• Dehumidifiers.
• Programmable thermostats.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs.

The Shop Maryland Energy weekend has the potential to be a win-win-win for consumers, for retailers and for the environment, said Franchot (D).

“I’m particularly interested in it because the economy is so bad right now for retailers, we really need to give them a boost,” he said.

The Energy Star label is a government-backed program to promote energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Consumers can find “true value” if they buy Energy Star appliances over President’s Day weekend, said Patrick Donoho, president of the Maryland Retailers Association.

“It’s 6 percent right off the top, you don’t have to mail in anything, you’re not going to pay sales tax on it,” Donoho said. “So that’s a true value. Shopping a Maryland store has all the residual benefits of employment, community activity, et cetera.”

By buying Energy Star appliances, consumers can save an average of more than $70 a year on energy used by their refrigerator and $135 per year in energy savings on washers, said Nathan Evans, a district sales manager for Best Buy. They can also reduce their washer’s water use by 7,000 gallons per year, he said.

“We’re thinking about the responsibility to the environment, to the Chesapeake Bay,” Evans said.

The comptroller’s office estimates that the tax-free weekend will cost the state about $563,000 in tax revenue. Though he is the state’s tax collector, Franchot said that the lost revenue is worth it.

“I feel strongly about it because these stores employ our neighbors and our friends and our family members,” he said. “Three thousand employees statewide work at Best Buy stores.”