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Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Underway

Dan Konik
Ohio sales tax holiday starts at 12:00 a.m. Friday August 4 and ends at 11:59 Sunday August 6, 2017

If you need to buy some school supplies for the kids or even some new clothes for yourself, this might be the weekend to do it. You won’t pay sales tax on many items purchased in Ohio because of the state’s sales tax holiday. 

There's no sales tax on many back to school items under $20 and clothing under $75. Alex Boehnke of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants says the state's most recent numbers show Ohioans saved $3.3 million on the sales tax holiday in 2015. And Boehnke says customers often purchase items that are not tax-free.

“You know they are getting that savings on the text book but they might be buying some food, groceries or other items that are not exempt so we feel that the state does not lose out in this process at all and it’s a win for everyone across the board.”

Because of that, Boehnke disputes the non-partisan Legislative Services Commission's estimates that Ohio will lose $14.7 million dollars in tax revenue this weekend.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.