Will Georgia Taxpayers Lose
Back-to-School Tax Break?

     Will last year’s back-to-school “sales tax holiday” be repeated in 2003? According to Georgia’s top retail organization, a tax break for Georgia families may be more important now than it was a year ago.
     Georgia Retail Association president Steve McWilliams concedes that this is not the best time to be advocating tax exemptions, but continuing the tax-free period on certain essential purchases could send a strong message to Georgia families that the government understands their plight.
     “ While the state is temporarily facing declining tax revenues, times are equally difficult and challenging for many Georgia families,” he said. “All across this state, families are making tough financial decisions and squeezing more and more out of their limited household budgets.”
     State Representative Ron Borders (D-Valdosta) has introduced two bills calling for a sales tax holiday in 2003. One of Borders’ proposals repeats last year’s tax-free event for two 2-day periods – April 11-12 and August 1-2. A second proposal would make the sales tax holiday permanent and combine the tax-free period into a single 4-day back-to-school time frame in early August each year. During the gubernatorial campaign, former Governor Roy Barnes and Governor Sonny Perdue expressed a commitment to making the sales tax holiday a permanent tax break for Georgia families.
     “A back-to-school sales tax holiday makes sense for several reasons,” says McWilliams. “It helps families most in need of tax relief, it stimulates activity in the business community and it provides a way for the state to target a brief, temporary tax break to Georgia citizens by returning a small portion of their tax money to help with essential purchases.”
     Last year’s sales tax holiday is estimated to have saved Georgia taxpayers approximately $6 million.