Staff Report
MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Tuesday encouraged Alabamians to remember this weekend’s state sales tax holiday for back-to-school items and stock up on needed supplies.
“The cost of school supplies can weigh heavily on a family’s budget, especially families with more than one school-aged child. The tax-free weekend is about saving families money on the school supplies their children need to start the new school year,” Governor Bentley said. “The tax-free weekend also gives shoppers an incentive to support local businesses, large and small. The tax holiday covers a wide range of items from school supplies to clothing and computers. I want to encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity to save money while preparing for the start of another school year.”
The eighth annual state sales tax holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 2. The holiday will continue through Sunday, August 4. A comprehensive list is attached detailing the items covered by the holiday.
Alabama’s sales tax holiday provision also allows cities and counties to join the state by removing their own local sales and use taxes from back-to-school-related items during the same weekend. As of July 30, 225 cities and 55 counties across the state are participating. A list of participating municipalities can be found on the Alabama Department of Revenue’s website at http://revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.cfm. Click on “Participating Cities and Counties.”
“The sales tax holiday is a much-anticipated event for many parents and students who are getting ready for school and college,” Alabama Revenue Commissioner Julie P. Magee said. “It helps Alabama taxpayers stretch their family’s back-to-school budget a little further, and at the same time, it provides a boost to our retail communities as more shoppers are out and about taking advantage of the sales tax holiday weekend.”
Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown added that stores across the state see an influx of shoppers during the sales tax-free weekend. Store owners see the weekend as a major boost for their businesses.
“Consumers and retailers win with Alabama’s annual sales tax holiday,” Brown said. “Shoppers save, and stores attract more customers. The back-to-school tax holiday weekend ends up being the second or third-busiest weekend of the year for many Alabama retailers.”
