This is great news. A tax exempt holiday for school supplies can save you some serious money. It isn’t official yet though. Lawmakers are still just considering it.
It's an expense parents and students can't avoid.
According to the National Federation of Retailers, the average cost for school supplies, apparel and electronics in 2011 was supposed to be just more than $600.
State lawmakers are considering suspending the state sales tax for three days in August to reduce that cost.
"Anything that helps out, especially in this economy, is going to be good," said Felicia Hawkins, a Denver parent of a middle school student and a high school student. "For school supplies, I would say (I spend) up to about $100 to $150; if you want to include clothing, then you're going to spend maybe another $100, too."
"The notebook paper, pencils, erasers, pens, (they cost me about) $30 to $40," said Suzanne Toft, also a parent of two school-aged kids.
Proposed Legislation Limits Tax-Free Items
The proposed legislation (House Bill 12-1069) would suspend the state's 2.9 percent sales tax from the first Friday in August, for three days until the end of Sunday. The savings is essentially three cents for every dollar spent.
"If the stores have the school supplies on sale in July, then I'll buy them in July," said Toft.
"We want to help struggling families," said bill sponsor Rep. Joe Miklosi (D-Denver). "This economy, this recession has hurt more families than we've ever seen, of all income levels and I'm just trying to find one practical thing to help them out."
The bill also is very specific on what would be tax exempt:
Clothes
- Apparel
- Footwear
- Sport or recreational equipment
School Supplies
- Art Supply
- Backpack
- Binder
- Book bag
- Calculator
- Chalk
- Clay
- Compass
- Composition Book
- Computer
- Crayons
- Dictionary/Thesaurus
- Dry Erase Marker/Eraser
- Glue/Paste
- Highlighter
- Index Cards
- Lunch Box
- Map/Globe
- Markers
- Notebook/Dividers
- Paper
- Pencil Boxes
- Pencil Sharpener
- Pencils
- Pens
- Protractor
- Reference Book
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Tape
- Textbook
- Workbook
Clothing accessories are not included in the tax holiday.
Clothing Accessories Not Covered By Tax Exemption
- Jewelry
- Handbags
- Wallets
- Watches
- Hats
- Scarves
- Hosiery
- Ties
- Belts
Clothing would be tax exempt on each article of clothing less than $100.
Computers less than $1,500 would be tax exempt.
School supplies would be tax exempt for each item less than $50.
7NEWS asked Miklosi about graphing calculators, which typically cost more than $50.
"It'd be tax exempt up to $50, but we still have time to adjust some of the numbers based on feedback," said Miklosi.
State Projected To Miss Out On $4.6 Million In Tax Revenue
7NEWS wanted to know how a state that has had to cut more than $1 billion in the last two budgets, could afford missing three days worth of state sales tax revenue.
"How much would the state miss in the general fund in those three days," asked 7NEWS reporter Marshall Zelinger.
"We're still weighing the pros and cons," said Miklosi. "We think we'll generate an additional $5 million to $10 million and we'll lose about $4.6 million in revenue."
"To me, it doesn’t matter. Any amount of money we spend on kids or put towards our kids, it's helping out for their future," said Hawkins.
"I would certainly think that the state could use (the lost revenue) in other areas," said Toft.
Miklosi also told 7NEWS that despite making significant cuts in the last two years, the state has also saved money by combining services and eliminating unneeded spending.
"In the last two years, we've saved over $50 million by finding increased efficiencies and reduced waste, and we want to take some of those savings to help struggling families," said Miklosi.
17 States Have School Supply Tax Holidays
Miklosi believes enough parents and students would spend money during the three-day tax holiday that it could spur job growth.
"I think it'll help small business owners grow," said Miklosi. "We actually think we'll increase an additional economic activity."
17 other states already have some sort of sales tax holiday for school supplies:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Tax Holiday Not Limited To Parents, Students
Businesses would be required to make sure their computer systems recognize what products would be tax exempt during the three-day tax holiday.
Those businesses would not be responsible for vetting who is a parent and who is a student.
"That would be too difficult on the retail establishment and the small business owners," said Miklosi.
The language of the bill exempts the sales tax for anyone making a non-commercial purchase, essentially a purchase that is not for a business account.
The legislation will be debated first in the House Finance Committee, but a time and date have not been set.
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