. Just in time for back-to-school shopping, Sunday was the first day of the sales tax-free week in Connecticut. 

What does sales tax free week mean? Retail purchases of most clothing and footwear items priced under $100 are exempt from sales and use tax. It applies to each eligible item costing under $100, regardless of how many of those items are sold to a customer. 

"This is Christmas in August. It represents a real savings especially for mom and dad as [kids are] getting ready to get back to school," says Gov. Ned Lamont in a press conference on Wednesday. 

Some stores are offering additional discounts because of high inflation this year. Hawley Lane Shoes tells News 12 this is usually one of the busiest times of the year for them. But since most of their items aren't below $100 anymore, they're offering a discount on products above that price point, which wouldn't qualify for the tax-free holiday.

"The basics is up to $100 but what we do, we go above that, so what we do is a form of a discount and it's actually better than the tax free," says Joe Gradia, co-owner of Hawley Lane Shoes.

"The price of gas is just through the roof, so any bit that we can help save people money, especially with kids going back to school," says David Levy, co-owner of Hawley Lane Shoes.

This one-week sales tax holiday ends on August 27 and is the second time this year Connecticut has held a one weeklong sales tax-free holiday. The last time was in April.

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