Yesterday Julie Raque Adams and Donna Mayfield announced that they’re sponsoring legislation to create a tax-free shopping holiday/weekend. The purpose? To benefit folks just before the beginning of a school year for Kentucky’s elementary, secondary and postsecondary students. With 20 other states currently offering a tax-free holiday, it only makes sense for the Commonwealth to jump on the bandwagon.
“As a parent of two school-aged boys, I certainly understand the cost associated with purchasing clothing and school supplies before the start of school each August,” said Rep. Adams. “And with the cost to purchase these items growing each year, it’s essential we attempt to provide some type of relief.”
“Not only is this bill designed to lower the amount families have to spend on school supplies, it could also help boost overall retail sales for school related items like computers, software and other supplies,” added Rep. Mayfield. “Overall we believe this bill can be a win-win for retailers, Kentucky’s students and their families.”
The proposal would establish one weekend per year (in August) to exempt items normally purchased for school. Items would include: clothing up to $100, school supplies, art supplies, calculators, computers up to $1,000, computer supplies, software and printers up to $500.
This is common sense and it’s always wowed us (okay, so it hasn’t. This IS Kentucky, after all.) because it hasn’t come to life in Kentucky.
Here’s hoping BR 91 sees the light of day. And that those spending limits are raised to benefit Kentuckians and Kentucky businesses.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Brian simpson // Dec 6, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Why cap the clothing allowance? Uniforms alone cost a tighty sum especially after you purchase at least 3 per child.
2 Wondering // Dec 6, 2011 at 9:36 pm
David Adams hates this idea. Surprised he hasn’t chimed in yet.
3 orangehat // Dec 7, 2011 at 11:21 am
You know, though, this seems like a major band-aid, and a costly one to our state. That’s revenue that we need to fund our schools, colleges, and public health and safety. Right now, my kid’s school doesn’t even have a librarian! She got laid off because of budget cuts last year.
A better idea, says this parent, would be to reform our tax structure so that the highest incomes are taxed at a higher rate (there’s your revenue…and who knows, maybe we get the librarian back), and lower incomes are taxed at a lower rate, so that there’s a little more wriggle room to buy those school supplies.
Would I participate in a tax-free weekend if we had one? Probably. (I usually buy stuff at the end of the previous season, when it’s on sale.) But I’d much rather see a system in place that adequately funds our schools, and lets each KYian contribute their fair share.
4 jake // Dec 7, 2011 at 11:29 am
Uh, two days of sales aren’t going to ruin the economy, folks.
And there are limits.
5 Wondering // Dec 7, 2011 at 12:57 pm
What the schools really ought to do is cut down on the number and the salaries of all those administrators, and maybe then they could hire librarians.
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