From Friday July 15th through Sunday 17th, the 4% state sales tax will be waived for school supply purchases.
The tax-free weekend is an easy way for parents and educators to cut back on some of the cost of the new school year. With inflation rates up to 9.1 %, any extra savings can make a difference.
According to the national retail federation, families with school aged children spent an average of 840 dollars on supplies last year. Let’s say you plan to spend that same amount this year. At that rate, this weekend you’d see saving of about $34.Daniel Sutter, a professor of economics at Troy University says even small savings this weekend can make a big difference for schools and parents across the state.
Sutter states, “From the state standpoint, and communities across the state that join this tax holiday, we’re trying to incentivize parents to make sure that they buy plenty of school supplies for their children before they go back to school; because, you know, we pay a lot of money for our public schools, and it would be a shame if students don’t have the school supplies that they need to succeed.
Clothing, computers, backpacks, paper, pencils, and other items are all included in the sales tax exemption. An added bonus -- many cities and counties across the state are also waiving their sales tax this weekend, bumping up saving up to 8% and even 9%.