Tax Free Weekend
Horn Lake,MS
By: Charlie Hoots
As parents are getting ready for the new school year, many are looking forward to the savings provided by the upcoming tax free weekend. The sales tax holiday allows customers to purchase certain articles of clothing or footwear free from Mississippi sales tax.
The Mississippi Tax Free Weekend starts this Friday, July 28th, at 12:01 a.m. and runs through Saturday midnight.
Brandy Blankenship with her son Jaden and daughter Arielle shopping at Walmart Horn Lake.
Shopper Brandy Blankenship of Nesbit did her shopping early. “ I wanted to get it out of the way and beat the crowds”, she said.
Some Mississippi shoppers might be surprised to find that the list of tax free items is limited – only including clothing and shoes priced under $100 per item.
Accessories (including backpacks and lunchboxes) and school supplies are not included.
The Tax-Free Weekend began in 2009, after House Bill 348 was passed during Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature. It has occurred every year since then during the last weekend of July.
Shoppers willing to drive to Memphis will have a slightly larger list of items to purchase under the Tennessee Tax Free weekend which is happening on the same weekend.
Their list includes clothes and shoes under $100 but it also includes items such as binders, notebooks, backpacks, lunch boxes, and calculators in addition to basic school supplies.
So will the extra savings be enough to lure folks from Mississippi to Memphis for the savings? Maybe not.
“I don’t travel to Memphis, It’s just not convenient for me and the crime is bad up there”. Blankenship said.
But other shoppers wonder why school supplies are not included. State Rep Steve Hopkins says, “This recently came to my attention and I intend to present legislation this coming year to expand the list of items to include, all educational supplies, laptops and other necessities not covered under current law. I believe these items should have already included.”
For Mississippians hoping to save some money buying all the necessities for school, this will be a most welcomed change.
