On Aug. 7-8, no sales taxes collected
Furniture, school supplies, hurricane protection items and even alcohol and tobacco products are just a few of the many items that will be available tax free next weekend after the Parish Council, the School Board and the state suspended their sales taxes.
During the sales tax holiday, which will take place on Aug. 7 and 8, no taxes will be collected on the first $2,500 of each purchase. The only exceptions are automobiles, restaurants and purchases made by a business.
“It’s really a big boost to us locally because most people shop in the parish during that weekend,” Paula Jeansonne, the director of the parish’s sales tax collection office, said. “Furniture, appliances and any of those other luxury items really sell well during that weekend.
“And I get the call every year – yes, alcohol and tobacco products are tax free as well.”
Though there are only three main exceptions to the tax holiday, Jeansonne said there are a handful of businesses that are not capable of changing their registers to reflect the abatement of the 9 percent tax.
If a resident visits one of those stores and ends up paying taxes, they can bring their receipt to the parish’s sales tax office to get a refund of the local portion, which is 5 percent. To get a refund of the state portion, which is 4 percent, the resident must request it from the store where they made the purchase.
“The first year we did this, we thought we were going to have to refund a lot of money, but we didn’t get one receipt,” Jeansonne said. “Last year, we only had to refund the parish tax portion on five receipts.”
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