International Plaza was packed Wednesday afternoon with people making post-holiday purchases.
“(There were) great deals, so we came out today and made it a day,” shopper Denise Godfrey said.
Others returned gifts from the day before or waited until their family needed their credit card.
“They just find what they want, and I pay for it,” Steve Posner said about his wife and daughter.
The people here willing to brave the post-holiday crowds might actually be saving some money. Hillsborough County's sales tax goes up in just a few days.
Hillsborough voters approved a 1.5 percent sales tax hike. A half-cent for every dollar will go to the school district for property improvements. The other extra cent will go to improving public transit, roads and bridges. Combined, the increases drive the county's sales tax to the highest in the state.
“It doesn't make any difference,” Godfrey said of the impending increase. “As long as it helps the economy, I have no problem with it.”
However, it might change the way some people shop for big-ticket items.
“If I were buying a large purchase like an automobile, I would go someplace else outside of Hillsborough County,” Bill Bach said.
You have until Jan. 1 to shop till you drop before the sales tax rate does the opposite.
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