Make Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday Permanent?
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM) -- The holiday for the Illinois sales tax during back-to-school time in the late summer would be an annual event, under a bill that has been introduced in the state House.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Dahl reports, state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) says suspending the sales tax actually helps the state.
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"It's really psychological, because it doesn't really make any sense to save 6 1/2 percent on sales tax for people to go out and spend more," Frank said. "But the empirical evidence of all the other states – as well as Illinois when we had it last year – indicates that people do spend more, and they spend it on items that would not be sales tax free, so as a result, the state does bring in more money, plus more people are hired, and it really does stimulate the economy."
Franks says the dates of the holiday would be Aug. 6 through 15 every year. It would apply to back to school items, as well as articles of clothing that cost less than $100.
