Ben Franklin once said that the only thing certain in this world is death and taxes, but for this weekend of Aug. 3, 4, and 5th, Virginians don’t have to worry about taxes --- temporarily anyway.

Virginia’s sales tax holiday is here again.  This year, it is set to begin at 12:01am on Friday, August 3 and end at midnight on Sunday, August 5.  During this time, purchases of school supplies priced at $20 or less per item and articles of clothes, including footwear, costing $100 or less each will be exempt from sales tax.  These items include, but are not limited to: 

• Paper: loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manilla paper, colored paper, poster board and construction paper
• Pencils
• Markers (including dry erase markers and dry erase marker kits)
• Lunch boxes
• Crayons
• Calculators
• Formal wear for men and women (sold, not rented)
• Jeans
• Shirts and blouses
• Athletic shoes under $100

All retailers selling these items must participate and are invited to pay the sales tax themselves on any nonexempt items to pass along the 5 percent savings.  There are no restrictions on residency or that the purchases are used for a student or for school purposes.                                                             

                                   
Tax Commissioner Janie Bowen expects much participation: "The state's first tax holiday was very popular last year as parents, students and others saved money on back-to-school purchases.  We certainly expect this year's holiday to draw a lot of attention, too. It's perfect timing to get ready for the new school year, and will be especially helpful to families with more than one child." 

The New River Valley Mall is anticipating the participation by holding extended hours:

Friday August 3 – 9am-10pm
Saturday August 4 – 8am-10pm
Sunday August 5 – 11noon- 8pm 

A complete list and more information  available at http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=STHoliday .

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