A 7 percent discount doesn’t sound like much, but in Mississippi it represents a chance for citizens to enjoy the kind of tax break so many out-of-state corporations are enjoying at the expense of the state.
Hardly $300 million worth, but if everybody takes advantage of Tax-Free Weekend, it’s a pretty good chunk of change removed from state coffers to citizens’ pockets over a 48-hour period.
Tax-Free Weekend, enacted by the state Legislature in 2009, starts Friday at midnight and lasts through the end of Saturday, giving shoppers two full days to stock up on mostly clothing items without paying state sales tax.
And since the weekend always falls on the last Friday in July, store owners normally have end-of-season sales in place to sweeten the deal.
Anthony Ola of Anthony’s shoe store on Park Avenue and Ola’s on Howard Street downtown said customers can walk away with a huge discount at his stores.
“We have a back-to-school sale going on along with the tax-free sale,” Ola said. “Customers can save from the sale and also get their purchases tax-free.”
Ola said the end of July tradition is a boon for businesses, especially small retailers.
“It’s really a great weekend for us because it starts our back-to-school business,” Ola said. “The crowds can be overwhelming.
“It’s good for Greenwood and good for Mississippi.”
Ola’s two stores will open at 8 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday and will close at 5:30 p.m.
Items eligible for the tax break include baby clothes, gym suits, hosiery and socks, work clothes and uniforms, in addition to most items of clothing, including underwear.
Items must be priced at less than $100.
Not included are athletic equipment such as baseball cleats, sports helmets and pads, and graduation caps and gowns. Also excluded are jewelry, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches, and briefcases, all of which are still taxed.
Many parents take advantage of the tax-free weekend to stock up on school clothes, especially the uniforms required by the Greenwood and Leflore County school districts: navy or khaki pants and shirts either in the individual school’s colors in the case of Greenwood schools or red, white or blue three-button polo shirts for county schools.
Beauty Express, located in the Greenwood Shopping Center, features low-priced uniforms sold in packages of five shirts and five pants or smaller packages of three, all at a low set price in addition to the tax break.
Individual pants and shirts can be purchased there as well at discounted prices.
Beauty Express will extend its hours on Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Mike Goldberg of Goldberg’s downtown and Conerly’s on Park Avenue said basically everything in Conerly’s goes tax-free, including the store’s line of comfortable walking shoes.
“We’ll have our end-of-summer sale going on, too,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg’s downtown sells uniforms that meet Greenwood Public Schools’ specifications, including a package deal on school items.
Goldberg’s will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
School uniforms meeting the specs of the Leflore County schools are available at Super Soul Shop, Beauty Express, Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney.
Teachers can get help with back-to-school clothing purchases, too — including some good, comfortable shoes for all that standing.
For more information, visit www.freetaxweekend.com/mississippi-sales-tax-holiday.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
