Dominic CalabroFlorida schools will be back in session very soon, and the new school year brings plenty of changes. Students, teachers and parents will face new learning standards and a new assessment to test student achievement, but one thing will stay the same: the need for paper and pencils, clothes to wear, and maybe even a new computer at home.
With only a few weeks to prepare for the ringing of the first tardy bell, this weekend is the best time to shop because Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday begins. From Aug. 1-3, Floridians can shop tax-free on items to prepare students, teachers, and maybe even mom and dad to take on the classroom this fall. Purchases of clothing, school supplies and computers will go untaxed for three days.
Florida TaxWatch, the independent, nonpartisan watchdog group, has long supported sales tax holidays. They are a great way to lower the tax burden for hard-working Floridians. Tax-free holidays are popular with consumers and provide broad-based tax relief for purchases that people plan to make with or without the tax-free discount.
The back-to-school sales tax holiday has become an annual event for Florida consumers who plan their shopping trips around the tax-free days. This year’s sales tax holiday is the 13th since 1998. Holidays were not provided in 2002-2003 and 2008-2009.
Since 1998, taxpayers have saved $407.6 during the back-to-school sales tax holiday. That’s $407.6 million of Floridians’ hard-earned money that families kept to pay bills, save for college, or make the back-to-school season a little more fun.
This year’s holiday is expected to save taxpayers nearly $40 million. The savings are a small part of a nearly $500 million tax cut that the governor and Legislature supported this year to provide tax relief.
Certainly, $500 million is welcome relief for Florida taxpayers, but the Legislature could do more. By implementing cost-savings recommendations from the TaxWatch Center for Government Efficiency, lawmakers can improve public services while saving money, which they can then pass on to taxpayers in the form of tax cuts.
Aug. 1-3won’t be the only time Floridians get to purchase tax-free. Earlier this year, Floridians had a nine-day sales tax holiday on hurricane preparation goods at the start of June, and from September 19-21, people who buy energy efficient appliances won’t pay tax on the first $1,500 of their purchase.
While this year lawmakers put together a sales tax holiday package that is estimated to save Floridians $43.7 million, TaxWatch challenges the 2015 Legislature to produce more savings so they can pass them on to taxpayers with bigger and better sales tax holidays.
Dominic M. Calabro is President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
