This weekend, it's a back-to-school shopping bonanza. The more you spend, the more you save with this can't-be-missed sale.
Well, not exactly.
It's the state's annual sales tax holiday. Essentially, for every $100 you spend, you'll save about $4.23 in sales tax.
It's designed to give families a break on their back-to-school supplies.
But there are catches. It only runs from 12:01 a.m. Friday to midnight Sunday. And the tax break only applies to select purchases, including clothing, school supplies and personal computers.
One more thing: Only the state sales tax is exempt. Jefferson City and Cole County are firmly in place; both have declined to participate in the program.
We've urged them to participate in the past, and we renew that call again for the future.
It would be a loss of a relatively small chunk of revenue for the city and county, but it would help families to properly prepare their children for school. It could also encourage people to shop locally, which helps the local economy.
As we previously reported, tax exemptions are not limited to Missouri residents or students but are open to anyone who makes a qualified purchase.
Clothing less than $100 in value, including footwear, disposable diapers, and cloth or materials to make school uniforms, are exempt from the state sales tax.
Tax-exempt school supplies include textbooks, paper, pens and pencils, art supplies, backpacks, calculators less than $150 and software less than $350, among other standard classroom items. School supplies should not exceed $50 to remain tax-exempt.
Personal computers, which include laptops, desktops and tower computer systems, and computer accessories, including printers, that are less than $1,500 are also exempt from the state sales tax.
Only some people consider the sales tax holiday to be an incentive. If the city and county participated along with the state, it would surely gain more widespread interest.
News Tribune