Shoppers crowd stores for tax-free weekend

Judging by Jody Kelsey's crammed-full shopping cart, it looked like she was buying school supplies for a whole classroom of children.

But no. Only her three.

Kelsey, who lives in Benton, Mo., was shopping Saturday at the Cape Girardeau Target to take advantage of the sales-tax holiday, which allows shoppers to purchase specified back-to-school items sales tax-free.

"By the time you buy things for each of them, you can spend $200 to $300," she said amid the crowd that had jammed itself into the back-to-school aisle at Target. "It adds up. So I waited until this weekend to save a few bucks. Every bit counts."

During the 2005 Missouri legislative session, lawmakers permanently established the Missouri Sales Tax Holiday. That means shoppers buying school supplies and clothes this weekend are seeing a 4.225 percent discount.

The items exempt from sales tax include clothing with a taxable value of $100 or less, but that doesn't include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands or belt buckles.

Parents and guardians also can buy school supplies not to exceed $50 per purchase, including any item normally used by students in a standard classroom as well as computer software having a taxable value of $350 or less. Not included are watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture or fixtures.

Personal computers and computer peripheral devices are also sales-tax free this weekend, as long as the cost doesn't exceed $3,500.

And customers turned out Saturday afternoon in large numbers at the Target store on Siemers Drive. Senior team leader Mellissa Scholle said Saturday reminded her of the busy Christmas shopping season. On a normal Saturday, Target will bring in $60,000 on a Saturday, but she said they were expecting about $90,000 in sales on this one.

They brought in 15 extra employees to make sure lines moved quickly, a complaint shoppers lodged last year.

At J.C. Penney at West Park Mall, senior sales manager Phyllis White said they were busy on Saturday but probably not as busy as last year.

"It has been strong in back-to-school apparel," she said. "But all in all, sales have been a little slower than last year."

She said sales have been strong for the past two weeks. Some customers told her they weren't waiting for the tax-free weekend.

"They said they didn't want to fight the crowds," she said. "So that probably was a factor. But we've still got Sunday."

Kmart in Cape Girardeau was very busy, too, said assistant store manager Pam Rainey.

"Not as busy as Christmas-time, but it's close," she said.

Parents, however, were the ones most pleased about the tax-free weekend.

Brent Bollinger drove from Piedmont to do his shopping for his daughter, Morgan, who starts kindergarten in a few weeks.

"You can spend $300, easy," he said. "Clothes. Backpacks. Supplies. It doesn't take long."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137