Sales tax holiday begins Friday

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August 1, 2010

Anonymous The News Courier Sun Aug 01, 2010, 02:00 AM CDT

Alabama businesses struggling from the oil spill or the ongoing recession hope to be buoyed by the upcoming sales-tax holiday weekend.

Officials say the Aug. 6 through 8 sales event should help retail businesses in areas hurt by the British Petroleum oil spill as well as families struggling to make ends meet.

“Sales tax holidays are great for families trying to stretch a dollar, but they’re also great for small businesses,” said Rosemary Elebash, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. “They get people excited and in the mood to shop, and that’s exactly what our economy needs right now.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for about 97 percent of all employers in the state and employ about half of the state’s private-sector workforce.

Businesses in Athens, Limestone County as well as the surrounding cities of Decatur, Madison and Huntsville and Morgan and Madison counties will sell various items tax free during the sales-tax holiday. Jefferson County, which is struggling with budget cuts, will not participate in the holiday this year because it does not want to forgo the tax revenue. Tallapoosa County also will not participate nor will the city of Priceville, among other cities.

The holiday is expected to help businesses elsewhere in the state, especially the Gulf coast.

“We think this year’s sales tax holiday will really help businesses along the Gulf Coast who’ve been hurt by the drop in tourism since the Deepwater Horizon disaster this spring,” Elebash said.

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