Sale! Sale! Sale!
Consumers prepare shopping lists for tax-free holiday
By Betsy McElfresh
 

Sarah Conner and her six-year-old son Evan get a head start on their back-to-school shopping. However, Conner will make many of her purchases during Virginia's first ever sales tax holiday on August 4-6.

Grab your back-to-school shopping list and head to your favorite mall or shopping center on August 4-6 for Virginia's first sales tax holiday. For three days only, shoppers will pay no sales tax on common school supplies - from pencils and paper to book bags and binders - and most clothing and footwear. No tax will be charged for any school supply item $20 or less or article of clothing $100 or less.

But, even though the holiday comes just in time for back-toschool shopping trips, anyone can take advantage of tax-free savings during that weekend.

"The reality is it's for any consumer, so I plan on going out and buying some shirts personally, and I haven't been in school in awhile," says Bill Baxter, director of the Retail Merchants Association. "It helps the parents who are trying to get their kids ready to go back to school, but the event is really for everyone."

In addition to savings on school supplies and clothing, any retailer can voluntarily pick up the sales tax for purchases that don't fall under the state's guidelines for qualifying items. "The sales tax holiday is available to any retailer as long as they are willing to pay the sales tax for their customers," says Baxter.

Sarah and Evan Conner browse through the racks in seach of clothing for school.

Several Chesterfield retailers including Myrna's Boots 'n' Bits, Franco's Fine Clothiers, Capri Jewelers, Ben Franklin and others plan to pay the sales tax for customers during the weekend.

"We're hearing a lot of exciting things about retailers taking advantage of Virginia's uniqueness," says Baxter.

Although many states offer sales tax holidays, few, if any, give retailers the option of paying the sales tax for their customers on non-qualifying purchases.

"Every other state that has run [a sales tax holiday] has seen double digit increases in sales," reports Baxter. "Those three days are really, really exciting days in Florida, Texas and New York. They're big, big events." Some states see sales figures that rival holiday shopping levels.

Chesterfield mom Tonya Brogan is already gearing up to hit the stores on August 4. Her three-year old daughter Makayla starts preschool this fall.

"We're going to Old Navy for clothes, because we have a coupon for an extra discount there, and we'll go to Kohl's and Wal-Mart and Target," said Brogan.

Brogan moved to Chesterfield from Atlanta last August. "They [offered a tax-free holiday] there.

Even though our children weren't in school, we took advantage of the tax-free holiday. We would buy clothes and supplies that I needed at home," said Brogan.

She's looking forward to Virginia's version of the sales tax holiday. "I'm used to the tax-free holiday, so I think it's about time," said Brogan.

Sarah Conner, a first grade teacher at Crenshaw Elementary School, also plans to take advantage of the added savings. Since she receives just $92 for classroom supplies each year, Conner has to budget for every piece of construction paper and glue stick.

Normally, she would have already purchased her classroom supplies, but now she's holding out for the price break, hoping it will help her buy more with less. "I'm always willing to save a buck," said Conner.

School Crossing owner Sherry Phipps anticipates accelerated sales during the sales tax holiday.

"We have a lot of customers who homeschool. This is a great opportunity for them to get their teacher resource books," explained Phipps. "That extra five percent they don't have to pay is nice."

The Virginia General Assembly approved the sales tax holiday earlier this year to help families with children in school and to boost the retail economy in Virginia. The state plans to offer a sales tax holiday during the first weekend of August each year.

To learn more about the sales tax holiday, visit www.retailmer chants.com or www.tax.virginia. gov/salestaxholiday.

Additional reporting by Donna C. Gregory

An unusual shopping list While pencils and paper top the list of qualifying items during the sales tax holiday, the state's official listing includes more obscure items including:
  Musical instruments
  Sheet music
  Paintbrushes for artwork
  Belts and suspenders
  Bathing suits
  Corsets and girdles
  Rubber pants
  Wedding apparel
  Choir and altar clothing
  Diapers for children and adults
  Insoles and inserts for shoes 
 

For information on the sales tax holiday and a list of qualifying items, visit www.retailmerchants.com.