One of the biggest shopping weekends of the year kicks off today.
It’s the “tax free” shopping weekend started to give back to school shoppers a break on paying sales tax on their purchases related to items used for school supply needs - from computers to clothes and other school related supplies.
But the list is pretty long and it’s not restricted to “students” so many people use the sales tax break to buy things such as computers.
Right now, with the high cost of gasoline and food, any financial help is certainly welcome.
And along with the sales tax exemption it appears some people will use at least a portion of their federal rebate checks to pay for their purchases.
According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 Back to School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, this year’s economic stimulus rebate checks will play a major role in shopping patterns, according to a story in the Morning News.
The survey found that one-fifth of parents nationwide have set aside a portion of their stimulus check for back-to-school purchases.
Our retailers also can use a boost, and so the purchases that people will make are welcome news for them as well.
What we hope doesn’t happen is that people buy things they don’t really need or add to their debt, which could cause more problems in the long run.
Also, keep in mind that the state of South Carolina, which continues to depend more and more on sales tax to pay for services, loses plenty of revenue from purchases that are made this weekend.
South Carolina Department of Revenue spokeswoman Adrienne Fairwell told The Associated Press the state loses $2.8 million in sales tax revenue during the three days.
The South Carolina legislature has commissioned a study to look at all aspects of our taxes.
We know that depending so much on the sales tax, which fluctuates with the economy, is not a good thing.
And state agencies already are facing mid-year budget cuts.
We look forward to the committee hopefully recommending ways to balance our tax collections to fund state government so that the tax-free weekend can continue.
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