CuriousOne
08-04-2006, 11:04 AM
I totally agree with this opinion posted today on HA. :smt038
Mississippi should create tax holidays
The average family with school-age children will spend $527 on school supplies this year, according to the National Retail Federation. In 14 states, those families won't have to pay state sales taxes on those purchases because their lawmakers have approved tax holidays.
Mississippi is not one of those states, but it should be.
Various bills have been introduced in the Mississippi Legislature in recent years to set aside a weekend when consumers don't have to pay the 7 percent sales tax. Each of the bills has been defeated so far.
In a state like Mississippi, where low-income families struggle to make ends meet, spending on new clothes and school supplies is difficult.
A sales tax holiday would help those families and others stretch their dollars.
This is a good idea not only for consumers but retailers. Briefly eliminating the sales tax would generate significantly more traffic to stores, thus boosting their bottom line.
According to a report in USA Today, sales tax holidays have become so popular that they are second only to the Thanksgiving weekend in sales in some states.
The tax holidays are treated like Christmas or Thanksgiving in many of those states. Retailers stay open later than normal and tourist buses from neighboring states haul shoppers in to take advantage of the tax breaks.
Alabama and Tennessee, two states that border Mississippi, already have tax holidays. We assume that many Mississippians who live near Memphis, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham or Mobile take advantage of those holidays each year.
Florida, which isn't a very long drive for many in South Mississippi, offers three tax-free holidays: one from May 21-June 1 on hurricane supplies; a second holiday in July on clothing and school supplies; and a third in October on energy-efficient appliances.
That money should remain in Mississippi and help our retailers.
If Mississippi lawmakers really want to do something to help their constituents, they should approve a tax holiday bill in 2007.
Originally published August 4, 2006
Mississippi should create tax holidays
The average family with school-age children will spend $527 on school supplies this year, according to the National Retail Federation. In 14 states, those families won't have to pay state sales taxes on those purchases because their lawmakers have approved tax holidays.
Mississippi is not one of those states, but it should be.
Various bills have been introduced in the Mississippi Legislature in recent years to set aside a weekend when consumers don't have to pay the 7 percent sales tax. Each of the bills has been defeated so far.
In a state like Mississippi, where low-income families struggle to make ends meet, spending on new clothes and school supplies is difficult.
A sales tax holiday would help those families and others stretch their dollars.
This is a good idea not only for consumers but retailers. Briefly eliminating the sales tax would generate significantly more traffic to stores, thus boosting their bottom line.
According to a report in USA Today, sales tax holidays have become so popular that they are second only to the Thanksgiving weekend in sales in some states.
The tax holidays are treated like Christmas or Thanksgiving in many of those states. Retailers stay open later than normal and tourist buses from neighboring states haul shoppers in to take advantage of the tax breaks.
Alabama and Tennessee, two states that border Mississippi, already have tax holidays. We assume that many Mississippians who live near Memphis, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham or Mobile take advantage of those holidays each year.
Florida, which isn't a very long drive for many in South Mississippi, offers three tax-free holidays: one from May 21-June 1 on hurricane supplies; a second holiday in July on clothing and school supplies; and a third in October on energy-efficient appliances.
That money should remain in Mississippi and help our retailers.
If Mississippi lawmakers really want to do something to help their constituents, they should approve a tax holiday bill in 2007.
Originally published August 4, 2006