Tax free weekend starts Friday
By Staff Reports
Published in News on August 5, 2010 2:14 PM
North Carolinians will have a chance starting Friday morning to save money on many purchases that will help parents get their children ready for school.
The annual tax-free sales weekend starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday and continues until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
The event has proven popular with both consumers and merchants across the state and despite the state government's financial problems, lawmakers chose not to tinker with the law this year.
North Carolina General Statue 105-164.13C provides an exemption for certain items of tangible personal property.
Clothing, footwear, and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item, computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item will be exempt.
Clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets, furniture, items used in a trade or business, and rentals are not covered by the exemption and will be subject to the applicable tax.
In anticipation of big sales, some stores are extending hours. Most have stocked up on items that fall under the tax exempt status.
Staples on North Berkeley Boulevard is one store in Goldsboro that is prepared for the expected onslaught of shoppers. Most store employees will be working the entire weekend.
"We're definitely expecting a big crowd," said Sarah Coghill, the sales manager at Staples.
She said computers are normally one of the big selling items during the weekend and that the store has loaded up on laptops along with calculators and other electronic items in addition to more traditional school supplies.
"We've got plenty," she said.
More than a dozen states hold such tax-free weekends, including South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Many parents wait all summer for the chance to buy expensive items such as computers or sports gear without having to pay the sales tax, which in North Carolina is 7.75 cents on the dollar.
The exemption has been part of state law since 2002.