Shopping tax free in New York?
Monday, January 5th, 2009An amazing total of 270,000 Irish people visit New York City every year to enjoy the trip of a life time in the shopping capital of the world.
You can now join them for a dream trip to the Big Apple and this is your simple guide to saving lots of cash by knowing exactly how you can save money and where you buy must have items at the best price.
It goes without saying that New York is the most famous shopping destination in the world. You can pick up anything you want at Macy’s or get the latest cutting edge fashions at Jimmy Choo or Ann Taylor stores on Madison Ave and then take a short ten minute taxi journey to indulge in the dozens of designer boutiques dotted around SoHo. Where else could you be than to be in Marc Jacobs one minute then walk across the road to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s?!
Also remember that the euro is still relatively strong against the dollar so there are plenty of bargains to be had even though Irish shoppers can’t claim back sales tax in New York
You will simply not believe the prices in New York compared to the cost of the same items in Ireland. A pair of UGG boots which can be snapped up for $180 USD in the UGG Australia Flagship store in SoHo cost over €250 ($312 USD) Irish price. A pair of corduroy Levis will set you back €75 in Dublin vs $46 USD in New York. So the bottom line is that prices are still a hell of a lot cheaper in the U.S. than at home and you can enjoy a great break away while stocking up on your shopping.
It may sound a bit unpatriotic in these tough times but every euro counts and you will undoubtedly get better value for your money on many must have items in New York compared to Ireland. We all know commercial tourism is a fact of life and this works both ways. OK Ireland may not be the best value for some items but there’s still good shopping to be had here and www.visitnewyork.ie will be doing our bit with a new website to attract visitors to enjoy a trip to Ireland to take in our beautiful country. They may not come just for the shopping but they’ll stay for the craic and amazing scenery.
Note, you do not have to pay tax on clothing or footwear so pick up a pair of the latest Jimmy Choo’s or UGG boots at a fraction of the price of Grafton St. There is however a small tax on jewellery, handbags and electronic goods but prices still come up a lot cheaper than Ireland.
The VisitNewYork.ie team
