New and Unusual Sales Tax Holidays

(This content from www.avalara.com.)

Approximately 17 states typically offer one or more sales
tax holidays each year. Sales tax holidays allow consumers
to purchase certain products, exempt from sales tax for
a specific period of time. They can be a bit of a bear for
the retailers required to temporarily suspend sales tax
collections on certain sales.

Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina
all considered offering new sales tax holidays in 2021 or
beyond, though none of the bills made it to governors’ desks.

Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee were more successful.

Florida took home the “Most Unbelievably Complicated
Sales Tax Holiday” award for 2021. It’s one-time “Freedom
Week” exempted the first $25 of the sales price of this, the
first $75 of the sales price of that, and so on. For example,
the first $30 of the sales price of a camping lantern or
flashlight was exempt from Florida sales tax between July 1
and July 7, 2021, but any amount over $30 was subject to tax.
If most sales tax holidays are a bear for retailers, this one
was a grizzly.