Legislators in the Ohio House approved a Senate plan Wednesday that will waive sales taxes for one weekend next August for consumers doing back-to-school shopping.
The bill, introduced in the Senate by Kevin Bacon, a suburban Columbus Republican, would exempt sales taxes on Aug. 7, 8 and 9 in 2015 on purchases of clothing valued up to $75, school supply items priced up to $20 and instructional materials priced up to $20.
The bill was to return to the Senate Wednesday evening so members of that body could concur with House amendments and send it to the governor.
In approving the bill, legislators also gave their OK to an allocation of $10 million from the Ohio Local Government Innovation Fund to townships around the state. Half will be evenly divided between 1,308 townships. The other half will be allocated based on road miles in those townships.
An analysis of the costs of the bill by the Legislative Services Commission estimates it will decrease sales tax receipts by up to $14 million in the next budget year. About $3.7 million is money that would go to county and local governments, libraries and transit authorities.
The National Retail Federation estimates the average family with children in grades kindergarten through 12 spent $688.82 on back-to-school items in 2012. Ohio families who spend the average would save $38 with a sales tax holiday, according to a study by the Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati.
Critics of the proposal argued it will not create a significant boost to the economy nor provide consumers with a significant amount of tax savings, but will cost communities tax revenue.
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