Shoppers can take advantage of the state’s three day sales tax on many items just as back to school time arrives at the end of this week.
Starting at 12:01 a.m., Friday and running through the weekend, the break from the 6 percent state sales tax and any local option sales taxes, applies to clothing, shoes, and certain accessories selling for $75 or less, and certain school supplies selling for $15 or less. Books are not exempt from sales taxes this year.
Also exempt are sales at theme parks, hotels, airports and other places where tourists are likely to be shopping – lawmakers would prefer not to give them the break.
This isn’t the message that the backers of the holiday want to impart, but the irony of the sales tax holiday is that, while meant to lower people’s tax burden, it actually increases the amount of tax people pay.
According to the Department of Revenue, every time the state has a sales tax holiday, the state collects more in tax revenue, apparently because people go out and buy a whole lot of stuff that’s not covered by the tax break.
A number of retailers also hold sales this weekend.
