The upcoming sales-tax
holiday will be a big help to stores struggling
in the sluggish economy, said Dawn Starns, state director of the National Federation of Independent
Business.
According to the Louisiana Department of Revenue, the holiday applies to “all consumer purchases of tangible personal property, other than vehicles … and meals.”
“This is exactly the shot in the arm small
businesses need,” Starns said. “It’s become like the Friday after
Thanksgiving. It puts people in the mood to shop, and we’re hoping they buy at
least some of their school clothes and supplies at small, locally-owned
businesses.” NFIB/Louisiana is the state’s leading small-business
association, with over 4,000 dues-paying members representing a cross section
of the economy.
“When you shop at small, locally-owned
businesses, you’re helping your friends and neighbors,” Starns said. “You’re
supporting the businesses that support our schools and charities and create
jobs in our communities.
The latest NFIB Small Business Optimism
Index, released July 8, shows that small-business confidence lost momentum in
June, with 13 percent of small-business owners surveyed reporting “poor sales”
as their single greatest concern, behind taxes (22 percent) and government
regulations (20 percent).
“Combined with the back-to-school sales a
lot of stores are having, the sales-tax holiday is going to help people get a
bigger bang for their buck,” Starns said. “The more we can do to encourage
people to shop at small businesses, the more jobs we’ll save, and the faster
our economy will grow.”
The sales-tax holiday is Aug. 1-2. Learn more at www.revenue.louisiana.gov.
