Many parents and grandparents use this weekend to buy selective clothing and school supplies for the kids returning to school, but there are many other items that are on the tax free list. This list is for the USA, and is sorted out by state. I didn't realize some states have added hurricane supplies on certain weekends, and energy star appliances are also on the list, so check it out if you're in the U.S. and want to save some money. http://www.freetaxweekend.com/
About 2 weeks before the start of schoolyear, we also have discounts and promos here for school supplies and clothing materials intended for pupils and students. It is the public service of some businesses to sell notebooks, pens, and even books at low prices. But that is only done in Metro Manila where the bulk of poor students are residing. One time I accompanied a niece to buy her things, I saw for myself the big discounts given to them. What used to cost 80 was being sold for 50. Great discounts for schoolyear opening sales.
I did not spend a penny this past tax-free weekend/. In fact I didn't get out of the house. I had some breathing problems and some worry problems and I'm on a diet.
Huh, I find it really nifty that you guys have such a weekend. I'm guessing it's nice to not have tax and be able to buy all kinds of stuff without having to think about extra cost. I guess I have it well for myself here in Romania, as they recently cut down VAT from 24% to 9%.
WOW, that's an amazing tax cut. It would be great to see a bit decrease here. Although our taxes appear to be lower here, appearances can be deceiving, since it seems just about everything we do is taxed at one or more levels, and it all adds up and takes a chunk out of our budgets. @Bill Boggs Hope you're feeling better this week. We've had a few Ozone Alert days here, and I don't even need the weather service to tell me, I can tell by how bad my allergies and asthma are on those days in particular.
Several of our presidential hopefuls have talked about going over to the Fair Tax. It would replace income tax; but I think that any states that have a product tax would still have the local tax. The Fair Tax might be a better way of doing things because the people who spend more, would also be the ones paying more. I think that there was a provision in it for low income exemption; but I do not remember exactly how that part worked. Since we didn't need any of the items that are usually on the tax free exemption; we didn't buy anything, and in fact; that is a weekend that we usually stay home, and away from any stores where the shoppers would be congregating at.
I think the so called fair tax hurts those with lower income. True the wealthier spend more and would pay more taxes, but the wealthiest spend only a small portion of their income while the poorest spend most all of their income. Those who pay no income taxes now would have to pay taxes on everything they buy. I think a simplified income tax would be better. Pay the same percentage for everyone, no deductions for anything.
If I recall correctly, there is tax even for Internet purchases, right? I'm referring to the digital ones. Or is it a state thing? I know for sure that in Europe, tax is added to the shown price, so that's nice.
Sheldon, would that be the same as the Flat Tax, or different? I've read parts of the explanations for both that and the Fair Tax, but it's been a while, and I didn't see the point in keeping up with it, since it doesn't appear the IRS is going away any time soon. I think if people sat down and calculated exactly how much of their income is going to taxes of various types, whether they be federal, state, city, county, there must might be a revolution.
In the U.S., the internet tax is supposed to be state by state, but it's not always enforced. I have received some notices from Etsy about digital goods sold to the EU, and the VAT appears to be pretty high.
There is a huge import tax for electronic goods if you buy them from other countries, at least in Romania. However, for digital purchases such as music albums or movies, there is no added tax.
I've never heard of a Tax Free Weekend USA. When I went to the link Hawaii wasn't listed as a State that has this program, too bad for us! You're lucky to have such a program. We pay .05 tax on everything locally. Some places differentiate about what is taxed and not taxed. Locally whatever we buy we're taxed. One Governor tried to tax online shopping for Hawaii residents. This wasn't popular and died in the Legislature.
You could write to your governor/representatives and express your interest in having a tax free weekend (or more than one) instated in Hawaii. Probably, the more people you could get to contact them, the better your chance of success. There are online petition sites you could use for free, and I'm sure there would be support for the measure.
We have both a tax free weekend for school supplies, but also one for storm preparadness supplies (if that is even a word!). It is nice to be able to stock up on these things and save a bit of money. There is a limit on how much you can save on, but you can go back to the store as many times as you want, spend the limit, and still save. I buy my grandsons school supplies and clothing on that weekend and manage to get enough school supplies that I do not have to buy anymore the rest of the school year.