2016 Florida Sales Tax Holiday cut. Now shorter and fewer purchase allowances
There’s good news and bad news for Floridians who take part in the state’s back-to-school sales tax holiday. 2016 Florida Sales Tax Holiday cut to just a 3 day weekend in August, unlike in 2015 where it was an entire week.
This year, the August ‘holiday’ is being scaled back from 10 days to just 3 days by the Florida Senate.
Gov. Rick Scott and the House had initially proposed a 10-day sales tax holiday but during budget negotiations, legislators scaled back how much money they were willing to set aside for tax cuts.
In addition to the shorter period, the amount of savings available to shoppers will be lower than in earlier proposals.
For example, shoppers will be able to avoid paying sales taxes on clothes that cost $60 or less, down from an earlier $100 proposal. Also, computer purchases won’t be included in the holiday like it did in 2015.
Lawmakers are racing to finish up budget negotiations so they can adjourn on time on March 11.
State law requires a final deal to be reached by Tuesday to allow for a 72-hour “cooling off” period before the House and Senate formally vote on the plan.
Gov. Scott would then review the plan and possibly issue line-item vetoes.
