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Tax-free holiday around the corner
Published July 20, 2010
The annual sales tax holiday will be Aug. 6-8, giving shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, computers and clothing free of state sales tax.
Albertville Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Palmer is urging residents to “make a day of it,” shopping and eating out that weekend.
“My daughter, Amelia, loves to shop so she and I will go out together, buy her supplies, her clothes and a lunchbox,” Palmer said. “Then we will also go out to lunch and do whatever else we need to. We make it a day.”
Palmer hopes shoppers will take the opportunity to not only purchase the school supplies and clothing, but also buy the day-to-day necessities.
“Why not save a trip and save some gas at the same time? When people are out shopping, they are most likely going to buy other things they need, like groceries and light bulbs, that are not included in the tax-free weekend,” Palmer said.
“It all comes down to supporting our city and our neighbors. We all live next door to someone that owns a store, or works at a store or works for the city. Shopping locally supports them all and we need to remember that.”
During the tax-free weekend, qualifying clothing including belts, boots, coats, diapers, dresses, gloves, hats, hosiery, jackets, jeans, pajamas, pants, robes, sandals, scarves, school uniforms, shirts, shoes, shorts, socks, shoes and underwear costing less than $100 per item will be tax free.
Computers and related supplies are hot items during the tax-free weekend, said Staples operations manager Carol Ickes. Her best advice for shoppers is to do their homework prior to shopping.
“A lot of times people come in assuming everything qualifies for the tax-free weekend and some things don’t,” she said. “If they will research what qualifies and what they need, it will be easier on everyone and may get the customer in and out of the store faster. Sometimes, if they watch the sales before, they may be able to get things cheaper than they would during the tax-free weekend.
“I think everyone should shop around a little beforehand. Get an idea of what they need, what is available and what it costs.”
Computers, software and related supplies, such as disks, handheld electronic schedulers, person digital assistants, printers and printer supplies including ink and paper are tax exempt.
Computers must be a laptop, desktop or tower system with a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers sold as a package and must cost $750 or less. Parts and devices not sold as part of a package with the CPU and will not qualify for the exemptions.
A wide variety of school, art and instructional supplies are also considered tax exempt. Supplies include binders, chalk, book bags, calculators, tape, compasses, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, highlighters, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks and paper, supply and pencil boxes, pencils and sharpeners, pens, protractors, rulers, scissors and writing tablets, all of which must cost $50 or less each.
Many stores will have school supply lists on hand but a good rule of thumb is to bring your own list from school. Not every school has supplied stores with a list, Ickes said.
Instructional materials include reference maps and globes and required textbooks on an official school book list with a sales price of between $30 and $50 each.
Books are tax exempt if they cost $30 or less but does not include magazines, newspapers or periodicals.
Tax-exempt art supplies include clay and glazes, paints, paintbrushes for artwork, sketch and drawing pads and watercolors.
Common sense should prevail, Palmer said. Video games, jewelry, clothing accessories and purses are among the items not tax exempt. Newspapers, magazines and other periodicals also do not apply.
For more information on the sales tax holiday, call the Alabama Department of Revenue between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 334-242-1490 or 866-576-6531.
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