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Retail Group Asks Members If They Would Support Lowering Sales Tax

BOSTON (AP) — The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is asking its members whether they would support a ballot campaign aimed at lowering the state's sales tax.

The survey sent to some 4,000 retailers is the strongest indication to date that the organization may attempt to place a sales tax question before voters on the 2018 state ballot.

The group says Bay State merchants who must collect the 6.25 percent sales tax are hurt by competition from the internet, where consumer purchases are often untaxed, and from shoppers crossing the border to tax-free New Hampshire.

The survey asks retailers if they would prefer to lower the tax or eliminate it completely, and whether they could contribute financially to a ballot campaign.

Retailers have also called for restoring the summer sales tax holiday in Massachusetts.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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