More states giving holiday from sales tax

[veritas]

From USA Today

Is your state going to give you a sales tax holiday?

Everyday is a sales tax Holiday in Oregon!

[OldJack]

Yes... Missouri is having their sales tax holiday this weekend for back-to-school merchandise which includes a lot of items that are not exactly back to school (like computers, clothes, etc).

Its another unfair tax situation for those of us that don't have kids in the home anymore. Why should we have to pay taxes all year for those that don't pay their fair share because of tax holidays. Life is just unfair. d-a-m-n.

[veritas]

Life is unfair and then you...

I was looking at a source for retail sales per capita and Oregon was number 2 in the nation. Maine was number one because they draw from Canada.

They keep talking about a sales tax here and we keep voting it down by a huge majority. The usual arguments are the underground economy will pay. Tourists will pay. We need a three legged stool to stabilize revenues. blah blah

What they don't mention is we probably have 3 or 4 billion in sales from our neighboring states. This equates to thousands of jobs. What's more since the jobs are available here workers who live in our surrounding states work here and pay BIG Oregon income tax.

By the way when I shop in Washington I whip out my Oregon Drivers License and pay 0 sales tax.

[Bird Legs]

Old Jack-Tax Free Computers

Maybe you should buy a new computer and save some money. Of course, the more
of these items you buy, the more you save.
At least that is what my wife says.
A new upscale discount outlet mall opened up this weekend, to start off on the
tax free shopping. It is about 5 miles from our house. Guess where my wife
kids and grandkids are going tomorrow afternoon. Thats right, to buy some
tax free back to school items.

[Jiggers]

Texas Sales Tax Free on Clothing This weekend

I do all my clothes and shoe purchases for the year for myself on this weekend each year. Saved 22.29. Plus credit card gave a 5% cash rebate for the purchases at Kohls Department Store. That totaled another $11.56. Plus Kohls gave another 15% discount off of everything, even those things that were already greatly reduced. Saved another $40.79. Can't get my sister-in-laws with all their kids to take advantage of this. They say that is too embarrassing to do this and they don't want to fight the crowds. There were none between 8:00 AM & 11:00.

[sea-tax]

I was looking at a source for retail sales per capita and Oregon was number 2 in the nation. Maine was number one because they draw from Canada.

They keep talking about a sales tax here and we keep voting it down by a huge majority. The usual arguments are the underground economy will pay. Tourists will pay. We need a three legged stool to stabilize revenues. blah blah

What they don't mention is we probably have 3 or 4 billion in sales from our neighboring states. This equates to thousands of jobs. What's more since the jobs are available here workers who live in our surrounding states work here and pay BIG Oregon income tax.

By the way when I shop in Washington I whip out my Oregon Drivers License and pay 0 sales tax.

When I have to buy big ticket purchases I go to oregon, fancy that! SAy a new big screen, no tax.

[veritas]

The price is right

Come on down!

[OldJack]

<< Maybe you should buy a new computer and save some money.>>

Guess what.... I buy my computers thru the internet and don't pay the darn state sales tax. If I could get my electric thru the internet I would. Taxes are on everything now days. Electric bills, food, clothes, telephone, and on and on. Hell even the sewer bill..where will it all end.

[Snaggletooth]

Tennessee Tax Holiday

...is this weekend. On computers and back-to-school stuff.

On a $1500 computer this saves nearly $150. Tennessee is overwhelmingly dependent on sales tax. Retailers will not have a weekend this good until Thanksgiving.

There has been quite a struggle amongst many here to introduce a general income tax. This "tax-free" weekend is a chance for these folks to illuminate just how heavy our sales tax really is. They want a 4% income tax, and roll back the sales tax to 6%. Obviously not revenue neutral. In 2002, many legislators lost their seat by voting for an income tax.

I guess this goes on in Oregon and Montana too, except they push for sales taxes. There is such a thing as having your tax structure out-of-balance and creating interstate commerce that would not otherwise exist. Kentucky has virtually no tobacco tax, and Tennessee people bring back cartons of cigarettes in their trunks even though it is against the law. Lots of our people grocery shop in Georgia from the Chattanooga area, and also in Kentucky from our entire northern border because of MUCH lower sales taxes in those states. North Carolina misses out on this bonanza because the savings are not worth having to drive over the mountains.

We don't shop much in Alabama because their sales tax is high too, PLUS they have an income tax. However, TN will have $1000 property tax on the same value house in Alabama that will pay $200.

The most prolific of this interstate commerce was found in the state line town of Static, KY/TN. Sin city. No lottery in TN so people flocked to Static by the hundreds every week to buy lottery tickets. However, the Kentucky county was "dry" and on the TN side there were several honky-tonk places, so their folks would be found big-time in the Tennessee bars on Friday and Saturday nights. Static had a stop sign, and sometimes Hwy 127 would be backed up for half a mile.

Static is now a normal community. Tennessee passed a lottery and alcohol is now legal on the Kentucky side in Albany, KY. Point being (I suppose) that states need to consider the consequences of their out-of-balance tax structures, capitalize on the good features and minimize the bad.