No Tax-free holiday in Florida this year.
State lawmakers decided against the tax break, saying the state couldn't afford it.Finding clothes you like is the easy part, but paying for them is getting a little tougher. The week-long sales tax holiday won't be giving shoppers a break this year.
"The state of Florida gets almost all of its money from sales taxes. Sales tax revenues are down, down, down. As a consequence, we can't afford to pay our bills. And so this little holiday amounts to a significant amount of money, and this year frankly, the state of Florida just couldn't afford it," says Representative Keith Fitzgerald.
Well neither can most parents.
The sales tax holiday simply suspended paying state sales tax on any back to school items like clothes, shoes, backpacks, and all school supplies, under $50 each, to make back-to-school shopping a little easier on Sunshine State parents.
The state has decided to suspend the sales tax holiday this year because the state needs the money.
Well if the state didn't spend our tax revenue dollars on stupid crap, they wouldn't have to do this to parents who struggle to get their kids ready to go back to school.
This news is definitely sucky.
I have two teenagers who go back to school in about a month, and I have a lot of clothes, shoes, and a ton of supplies to buy for each of them.
It was always hard doing the back to school shopping anyway, it costs a lot to get kids ready to go back, and now it's going to hurt Florida parents even more.
Right smack in our wallets.
Ouch.
I know I'll be doing some major price comparisons before going to any stores.
I'll be going through sales flyers looking for the best and lowest prices, checking out all of the sales and comparing each store against one another for the best possible prices.
Two kids in high school with huge lists of expensive items, not to mention the new shoes and clothes they both need as they have both grown a lot over the summer, is going to be very hard.
I'll probably be going store to store, buying items at each store that has the best prices.
Hang in there Florida parents, let's hope the teachers won't ask for any big-time expensive items this year.
Comments
Well, isn't that funny? We're taxed on our income, taxed every time we buy something, and now these assholes can't afford to do without one day of a tax break. My heart weeps, how about yours?
Posted by: Devilish Southern Belle | July 23, 2008 2:41 PM
That sucks. I think we're having one here in Messychusetts this year, and they're still pretty broke, or so they say.
I wish I could magically teleport you here, then I'd take you shopping in beautiful tax-free New Hampshire!
Stupid politicians.
Posted by: Christine | July 23, 2008 2:55 PM
Ok... you and I are going to go bargain hunting together!!! Two heads are better than one right? :)
Posted by: Mindy | July 23, 2008 4:04 PM
You can't even complain. I am paying the highest sales tax in the nation (10.25%), and we never get a sales tax holiday.
Posted by: Lisa | July 24, 2008 10:01 PM
Well I can complain because we specifically voted for the penny sales tax increase last year, raising the state sales tax to 9.6%, and the local sales tax to 7.9%, which would ensure that there was enough revenue being made from everything we and all the tourists bought, to make sure that come time for school, that the education budget would not be cut and that we would get the tax-free holiday every year.
But instead of keeping their word, the state spent an enormous amount of tax revenue dollars on all kinds of projects that they felt would improve things, they haven't, then oopsie, we're so sorry, but we're canceling something that we promised the tax payers we would never ever cut.
I have two teenagers in high school who not only need new clothes and shoes, but they have teachers who require them to have $200 calculators, $150 electronic dictionaries, and $50 mic/headphone sets, etc etc etc.
The taxes I saved on buying the clothes, shoes, and basic school supplies made it so that I was able to buy all of those required expensive electronics.
I have every right to complain when I'm a tax payer who was screwed over because the state fucked up, and am now looking at having to spend an enormous amount of money I don't have.
I am fighting to get my child support increased to help offset some of these costs, but there's no guarantees on if I win, and if I do, how much I will get.
Your kids are still young, it will be years and years, before you are required to have to buy really expensive back to school supplies, you have absolutely no idea what this is like for parents who are already struggling, and I'm a single mom who is disabled.
I have no working husband to work a few hours of over time to help, I can't work a real job to try and pay for all of this shit, the tax-free 1 week holiday was the one thing that helped me make sure my sons have everything they need to go back to school.
If they don't have those required items, they lose a class credit.
Not enough credits, they don't graduate or move on to the next grade level.
How's that for some serious mom guilt?
Because you can't afford to buy these items, your kid may not graduate?
This is nothing personal Lisa, but I've had other parents say the same type of thing to me, and they all have husbands with good jobs, they have new cars, they aren't struggling, so yeah, I take a little bit of offense when non-struggling people tell me I have no right to complain.
Posted by: Kat | July 24, 2008 10:19 PM