“s” : “shld”,”k” : “a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00″,”o” : “”,”j” : “”
O’fallon, Ill. (AP) — Beth Chavarria would have bought school stuff for her kindergarten-bound twins a week ago but waited until Friday’s start of Illinois’ first-ever waiving of the sales tax on such supplies.
The 36-year-old mother plunked down $90 at her local Walmart on everything from 30 glue sticks to scissors and notebooks, embracing the state’s inaugural 10-day “holiday” on sales taxes on certain back-to-school items as a fine time to save.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said of the tax break after her hourlong shopping outing.
Not everyone feels the same. Illinois’ tax reprieve on specified items comes as the state grapples with a $13 billion budget gap – among the nation’s heftiest. Detractors say that’s a less-than-ideal time to part with any revenue.
Illinois figured it had little choice, noting that such tax breaks in bordering Iowa and Missouri lured away Illinoisans’ back-to-school dollars.
Illinois is among some 20 states with some sort of sales-tax holiday, with Massachusetts joining the fold just Wednesday. Illinois’ sales-tax reprieve runs 10 days while the period in Missouri – and many of the other states – only lasts a weekend, in Missouri’s case through Sunday. By offering the break longer, Illinois hopes to draw in out-of-state shoppers, siphoning tax revenue from its neighbors.
“This is an idea of economic stimulus as well as helping families,” Gov. Pat Quinn trumpeted Friday during a staged visit to a Sears store on downtown Chicago’s bustling State Street shopping corridor. “This is a way to give our economy a shot in the arm.”
“This is 5 percent off, and I think it’s going to help a lot of people figure out, hey, it’s time to shop,” added Quinn, who last month signed the measure authorizing the tax reprieve.
It’s unquestionably an important time for retailers, given that back-to-school shopping ranks second only to year-end holiday spending. Surveys for the National Retail Federation found that a U.S. family, on average, is expected to shell out $606.40 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics this year, up from $548.72 last year and $594.24 in 2008.
Illinois families tend to spend $800 million to $1.2 billion on back-to-school items, meaning the sales-tax break would save them $40 million to $60 million in tax payments, according to the state’s Department of Revenue.
Deciding whether to sign off on the tax break proved tough for some state lawmakers. Republican state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld of Okawville warily voted for it, admitting that “I have mixed feelings about just how much good it does.”
He said he was aware the measure costs the state valuable revenue but was uncertain whether it fans consumer spending.
Some critics brand the tax break a gimmick. A study by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Tax Foundation – an advocate for simplicity, transparency and broad-based low rates in state and federal taxes – found that such reprieves cost states revenue at a time many are in dire fiscal straits, and that tax holidays define and compress buying times rather than generate new sales.
Claims that the tax breaks boost sales and bolster business is “mostly just an illusion,” said Mark Robyn, an economist for the foundation. He said the holidays complicate tax collections, distort individual buying decisions and reflect government meddling in the market.
“It benefits individuals who are in the market for things like clothing and school supplies,” he said. “Why is a family with school children deserving of a tax cut and not an elderly couple who aren’t shopping for school supplies but maybe needs other things?”
At the Sears store the governor visited, Glenview’s Leslie Howell – mother of 10-year-old triplets and a high school-bound daughter, 14 – called the sales-tax reprieve “a nice boon for the city.” And she liked that it lasted 10 days, giving her enough time to buy a new wardrobe her brood, all of which she said had grown over the past year.
“It would be hard for me to shop for all four in one day,” she said.
CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM writers Karen Hawkins in Chicago and Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
Yikes this definitely takes me back, needed some more pictures maybe.
hey my friend, i was just browsing the net searching for some reliable information and I came across your website. Im very awed by the information you have written on your site. I see how well you know this topic. I saved your site to my bookmarks, and will be coming back often. Cheers.