Second annual sales tax holiday begins tonight

By Staff
Kim West, Franklin County Times
Alabama will hold its second annual sales tax holiday tonight beginning at 12:01 a.m. and concluding Sunday at midnight.
The tax holiday will give Franklin County shoppers the opportunity to purchase specific school supplies, computers and clothing free of state and local sales tax.
"We're just making sure we're in stock with all the items we'll need," said Tony Lambert, Russellville Wal-Mart assistant manager. "The registers will automatically (remove the tax) through the home office in Arkansas for the items that are tax-exempt."
The total amount of sales tax is a combination of state, county and city taxes, according to state tax officials. Franklin County's local sales tax is 1 percent, and the state sales tax is 4 percent. Russellville shoppers pay an 8 percent sales tax at the register, and Red Bay residents pay 7.5 percent. Phil Campbell pays only 7 percent in sales taxes, and it has the lowest city sales tax (2 percent) in the county.
The tax-exempt weekend in Alabama was started in 2006 to help ease the expense of buying school supplies for families. But there is a specific list of items that are tax-free or non-tax exempt, and all purchases must be for non-commercial use. Tax-exempt items include clothing ($100 or less), books ($30 or less) and computers ($750 or less). Non-tax items include cell phones, clothing accessories, periodicals and sports equipment.
"We have a display up front near the entrances letting people know what items are available (for the non-tax discount)," Lambert said.
"School supply sales have been steady, but I think there are a lot of people holding off on buying big-ticket items, such as clothes and computers. Probably just about all of our computers will qualify, except for some of the Gateways and the higher-end laptops."
For a list of tax-exempt items, visit the Alabama Department of Revenue's Web site (www.revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.htm) or call 334-242-1490 or 866-576-6531.
"I think the non-tax weekend boosted sales last year," Logan said. "But this will be just like any other busy weekend for us."