By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
Back-to-school shoppers can save cash this weekend.
Missouri’s and Oklahoma’s back-to-school sales tax holidays start today and run through Sunday.
Missouri exempts shoppers anywhere in the state from the state sales tax of 4.225 percent on eligible items. Some counties and municipalities participate, but others opt out, so local taxes may still apply.
Leslie Jones, Joplin’s finance director, said the city opts out because much of its sales tax revenue supports capital projects approved by voters.
“If we don’t collect the taxes we thought we would, then we might not be able to complete the projects the voters told us they wanted,” Jones said.
Other area cities that opt out include Carl Junction, Carthage, Cassville, Granby, Liberal, Mount Vernon and Neosho. Area counties that opt out include Barry, Dade, Jasper, Lawrence and Newton.
Webb City participates in the holiday, meaning shoppers at the Wal-Mart Supercenter and other stores in Webb City won’t have to pay city or state sales taxes on exempt items. Supercenter manager Dave Warden anticipates a busy weekend.
“It seems like we pull people in from everywhere — Kansas, Joplin, Carthage,” Warden said. “We anticipate having a monster day.”
Warden’s employees set up for the rush days in advance, with displays of hot items such as computers, tennis shoes and classroom supplies.
“We get a lot of college kids,” he said. “And with the economy the way it is right now and the chance to save a little extra money, I think we’re gonna get slammed.”
Eligible items
Items that are exempt from the state sales tax in Missouri this weekend include clothing, computers and classroom supplies. Clothing includes wearing apparel and shoes, but not jewelry or accessories such as belts, scarves and handbags. Each article of clothing must have a taxable value of $100 or less to qualify.
Computers can include laptops, desktops and towers, and related items, such as software, keyboards, printers, scanners, sound and video cards, microphones, and modems.
To be eligible, computer software has to have a taxable value of $350 or less. Computers and associated items cannot exceed $3,500 for each category. Computers that are bought for business use are not eligible.
School supplies include “any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes.” That list includes notebooks, textbooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, art supplies, book bags, backpacks, calculators, maps and globes.
Only $50 in school supplies is eligible for the exemption per purchase.
But sporting equipment, telephones, music players, watches, copiers, furniture and fixtures are not exempt.
Ted Farnen, director of communications for the Missouri Department of Revenue, said the state cannot accurately estimate how many sales tax dollars consumers get to keep in their pockets and what that means for the state’s bottom line.
“We get that question a lot,” Farnen said. “It’s hard to come up with an actual estimate, and we don’t have a number we feel comfortable giving out.”
Oklahoma, Kansas
Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday runs the same time as Missouri’s. Oklahoma passed its sales tax holiday in 2007 as a way to benefit retailers and consumers. The state’s sales tax is 4.5 percent.
Oklahoma’s holiday exempts only clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item, and does not include school supplies. Jewelry and accessories such as handbags, luggage, umbrellas and watches also are not included.
Counties and cities are not allowed to opt out in Oklahoma, but the state reimburses cities and counties.
The Kansas Legislature tried again last session to pass a state sales tax holiday, but the measure failed.
State Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, said the arguments for passing a sales tax holiday are that it would stimulate the economy and give consumers a break. But she said the state is facing critical budget cuts and cannot afford to erode its tax base further.
“You can’t give away what you don’t have,” Menghini said. “We just don’t have the money to give.”
Shopping list
Items that are exempt in Missouri include:
Clothing: Wearing apparel, including shoes and clothes, with a taxable value of $100 or less per item.
Personal computers: Laptops, desktops or towers with a total combined value of $3,500 or less.
Computer software with a combined taxable value of $350 or less.
Peripheral computer items: Mice, keyboards, speakers, printers, scanners, sound and video cards, microphones and modems with a combined taxable value of $3,500 or less.
School supplies: “Any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes,” including notebooks, textbooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, art supplies, book bags, backpacks, calculators, maps and globes with a combined taxable value of $50 per purchase.
