Tax-free Shopping is Coming!
In South Carolina, they may as well call Nov. 24 "Green Friday."
That's what shoppers and retailers statewide are anticipating for the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and for the ensuing 48 hours in which South Carolina's "Thanksgiving Sales Tax Holiday" is expected to save consumers some $10 million on taxes alone.
If the August 2006 tax-free shopping event is any indication, the spending and savings numbers for next week will dwarf the impressive back-to-school figures. As the $2.8 million in consumer savings at that time came from nearly $56 million spent on tax-free items, these volumes are expected to more than triple for the holiday crush.
Shoppers are expected to travel in from other states to take advantage, and border counties like Horry will especially benefit. More details on the expected impact of the "Thanksgiving Sales Tax Holiday" can be found here.
A couple of important notes for this tax-free event:
- Though tax-free shopping periods are becoming a regular occurrence in South Carolina, this November event is a one-shot deal. Since retailers nationwide already provide steep markdowns to promote their "Black Friday" sales, the added tax savings here present a truly unique opportunity.
- The sales tax holiday applies to all purchases, except hotel and guest charges. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism recently issued a statement to clarify this.
I won't even guess how much money my wife will save us next week!
If they made the tax-free deal part of Thanksgiving every year, think of how many out of state people they can bring in and fill up the hotel rooms.