Tax-free spree?
By all accounts, Oklahoma’s first back-to-school sales tax was a big success — for shoppers at least. (The state lost $6.4 million.)
For one weekend last month, no tax was charged on most clothing for children and adults. The event aimed to give a break to families preparing for the start of school.
Now one state lawmaker, Sen. Don Barrington, wants to expand the sales tax holiday to include school supplies. Items would include paper, notebooks, crayons and calculators. Barrington says he’ll introduce legislation to this effect next session.
While the proposal is likely to be met with enthusiasm, it also could lead to lots of questions. Would computers be included since they are pretty much essential to education today? What about text books? The average college student pays $900 a year on assigned texts, according to the General Accounting Office.
What do you think? I don’t think saving 8-cents on a box of pencils is that great a deal, but getting hundreds off the price of a laptop would get my attention. E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
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