New Hampshire remains tax free to Bay State shoppers

Great news for southern New Hampshire retailers and Massachusetts shoppers, as the Boston Herald reports that the state Supreme Court rules against automatically collecting sales taxes on goods bought out of state.

A ruling by the state’s highest court today means that tax-free New Hampshire will remain tax free – even for Massachusetts residents.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court found that the state Department of Revenue had no right to collect a “use” tax – in lieu of a direct sales tax – on purchases of tires made at a New Hampshire store, but by people whose case were registered in Massachusetts.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall said, “There is no Massachusetts statutory presumption of use in the Commonwealth, where personal property is sold to a Massachusetts resident outside the commonwealth, even where the goods purchased out of state may be affixed to property registered in Massachusetts.