New Westchester sales tax goes into effect August 1

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A one percent sales tax hike voted in unanimously by the Westchester County Board of Legislators will take effect tomorrow, August 1. Officials say the increase will help homeowners save on property taxes, but critics aren't so sure.

"We're always concerned about what the long-term effects will be," said John Ravitz, Vice President of the Business Council of Westchester. "We don't want to see our retail business losing business to Connecticut and to other parts of the state in the region that don't have this type of sales tax."

The rate will be the same as neighboring Rockland and Putnam County, at 8.375 percent, but still lower than in Nassau and Suffolk County.

According to the county government, a portion of the sales tax will go towards local governments and school districts.