Governor Kathleen Blanco signed a bill last week creating an annual state sales tax holiday for the first Friday and Saturday of August.
Louisiana retailers will be exempt from the state sales tax on purchases up to $2,500 during the holiday, which falls on Aug. 3 and 4 this year.
The state will be out-of-pocket $6 million per year from estimated tax revenue loss, but Blanco is pleased with the decision.
According to a press release, Blanco said the bill provided a meaningful tax relief to Louisiana’s hard-working families.
The bill was created primarily to alleviate the cost of school supplies on parents’ checkbooks.
Bob Prescott, manager of the textbook section of the Co-Op Bookstore on Burbank Drive said his store would be celebrating the holiday.
“Textbooks will be included in the tax holiday,” Prescott said.
Prescott advised students to take advantage of the holiday by buying books early – if their class syllabi are available – to save on pricey textbooks.
Representative Yvonne Dorsey’s House Bill 93, which would have exempted college textbooks from state sales and use taxation year round, was not on the list of Blanco’s approved bills.
This past September, USA Today reported a rise in sales tax holidays in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The holidays were enacted to help parents with back-to-school purchases and to keep shoppers from crossing state lines.
Louisiana had a one-time state sales tax holiday in 2005 from Dec. 16 – 18. The holiday was a means to help residents stretch their dollars and support Louisiana retailers affected by the hurricanes.
Mary Ashley, political science senior, does not believe the tax holiday will have much of an effect on her as a student.
“It’s a good thing to have, but unless you are spending big it doesn’t really save you that much,” Ashley said. “It’s only 9 percent. Governor Kathleen Blanco signed a bill last week creating an annual state sales tax holiday for the first Friday and Saturday of August. Louisiana retailers will be exempt from the state sales tax on purchases up to $2,500 during the holiday, which falls on Aug. 3 and 4 this year. The state will be out-of-pocket $6 million per year from estimated tax revenue loss, but Blanco is pleased with the decision.
According to a press release, Blanco said the bill provided a meaningful tax relief to Louisiana’s hard-working families.
The bill was created primarily to alleviate the cost of school supplies on parents’ checkbooks.
Bob Prescott, manager of the textbook section of the Co-Op Bookstore on Burbank Drive said his store would be celebrating the holiday.
“Textbooks will be included in the tax holiday,” Prescott said.
Prescott advised students to take advantage of the holiday by buying books early – if their class syllabi are available – to save on pricey textbooks.
Representative Yvonne Dorsey’s House Bill 93, which would have exempted college textbooks from state sales and use taxation year round, was not on the list of Blanco’s approved bills.
This past September, USA Today reported a rise in sales tax holidays in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The holidays were enacted to help parents with back-to-school purchases and to keep shoppers from crossing state lines.
Louisiana had a one-time state sales tax holiday in 2005 from Dec. 16 – 18. The holiday was a means to help residents stretch their dollars and support Louisiana retailers affected by the hurricanes.
Mary Ashley, political science senior, does not believe the tax holiday will have much of an effect on her as a student.
“It’s a good thing to have, but unless you are spending big it doesn’t really save you that much,” Ashley said. “It’s only 9 percent.
——–Contact Morgan Ford at [email protected]