Eh…
During appearances Wednesday in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Gov. Scott Walker will announce a sales tax holiday on school supplies that he will propose in his 2017-’19 budget bill in February. The proposal will need legislative approval, but Assembly Republicans were already set to push for a similar proposal in a separate event earlier scheduled for Wednesday.
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That proposal would have decreased state tax revenues by $13.2 million a year and local government tax revenues by $952,000 a year. That would amount to a cut of just one-quarter of 1% of the $5.06 billion in sales tax revenues last year.
I remember when these became the rage across the South. As a consumer, it’s kind of nice to save a few bucks and many stores use the occasion to have promotions and such, but it’s gimmicky. I would prefer real tax reform, but I’ll take it.
If Scott Walker knew business, he’d know there’s a cost and hassle involved with changing what’s taxed and what’s not, especially if it is short duration.
If Scott Walker actually did the school supply shopping, he’d know school supplies are all heavily discounted in late July and early August.
As for the definition of “a few bucks,” why not illustrate this by telling us how much your family actually spent on school supplies this year, and how much you paid in sales tax?
jjf makes a great point. The estimated $11 million in reduced taxes is not worth the hassle and cost to local businesses. Businesses will respond by increasing what they charge for school supplies to recoup the cost of implementing the tax holiday.