As part of the sales tax holiday weekend of August 14-15, there is no sales tax on beer, wine, or hard liquor.
Many non-business retail items costing $2,500 or less are also exempt from the sales tax, but some items –motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, and anything else costing more than $2,500 — are not.
The sales tax exemption applies to sales of tangible personal property bought for personal use only; purchases by corporations or other businesses and purchases by individuals for business use remain taxable.
The Department of Revenue estimates that taxpayers will save somewhere between $20 million and $23 million over the holiday period. There was no sales tax holiday in 2009. In previous years, the holiday has saved taxpayers approximately $16 million.
