Alabama Sales Tax Holiday Starts Aug. 6

This year's sales tax holiday will be Aug. 6 through Aug. 8, a tax-free weekend declared by the Alabama Department of Revenue giving shoppers a break on their back-to-school purchases.

This is the holiday's fifth year in Alabama, and it waives sales tax from store items such as clothing, school supplies and uniforms.

Stemming from Alabama legislation passed in 2006 that allows families to buy what they need for the school year without the sting of sales tax, it doesn't include non-academic items, such as sports gear, cell phones and jewelry.

The holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. that Friday and ends at midnight the following Sunday. Mobile and Baldwin counties are participating in the tax-free weekend, like they have in years past.

With the Mobile City Council's 5-2 vote to increase sales tax to 10 percent, which took effect this past June, the sales tax holiday couldn't be more timely for families budgeting their way through a rough economy.

Not all families are taking advantage of the tax-free weekend, though, because it's right before the first week of school.

While shopping at Shoe Station by Bel Air Mall in Mobile on Wednesday, Semmes resident Tammy Williams said she has heard people saying they will wait until Aug. 6 to buy their children's school things.

"I don't like to wait until the last minute," said Williams, who was shopping with her daughter, a ninth-grader at Mary G. Montgomery High School.

While Williams appreciates the tax relief, she said, knowing she'll find plenty of clothing in her daughter's size outweighs any money saved.

Like other stores, Target in Mobile's Bel Air Mall benefits from a sales increase during the tax-free weekend, according to the store's spokeswoman, Sanaa El Khattabi.

"People are going to shop more," El Khattabi said Wednesday. That weekend, people generally purchase school supplies and things on clearance.

"Anything that could help them for the upcoming year," she said, adding that Target's large uniform selection attracts a lot of shoppers, too.

The City Council in Brewton voted to skip the holiday this year, according to City Clerk John Angel. Most of Brewton's council members felt it necessary to keep the tax revenue flowing into the city, according to Angel.

"We hang onto every dollar," he said Wednesday.

In addition to Brewton, The Alabama Department of Revenue says the cities of Atmore, Detroit and Chatom have declined to participate in this year's tax-free holiday.

To see the entire list of items included in the sales tax holiday, visit www.ador.alabama.gov.

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