Shoppers head to Jackson for sales tax holiday

Since the state sales tax holiday was established in 2005, Ravyn Reed of Jackson had always included Cape Girardeau in her shopping for the savings.

But for the first time Reed has opted to shop entirely in Jackson during the annual tax holiday.

"Those shopping for school supplies this weekend can really save on some pricey items," said Reed, who was shopping Friday in the Jackson Wal-Mart with her daughter, Victoria, and niece, Brittany. "Because Cape Girardeau isn't participating in the sales tax holiday, I'm going to pass on shopping over the next few days. It's important to save in this economy."

Reed was one of thousands of Missourians who may take advantage of the sales tax holiday that started Friday and ends at midnight Sunday. Certain items will be exempt from the state sales tax of 4.225 percent. Exempted items are limited to clothing, personal computers, school supplies and computer-related devices.

While most cities and counties will waive their sales tax during the weekend, some jurisdictions like Cape Girardeau have opted out of the three-day event. A total of 172 cities, 52 counties and 11 special districts elected not to participate this year. Some businesses in Cape Girardeau have decided to reduce prices on eligible items by the amount of the city tax.

Rob Petch, co-owner of Nearly Perfect Shoes, said that business at its Cape Girardeau and Jackson locations was steady throughout the day. Petch said his Cape Girardeau store discounted the city's sales tax rate of 2.75 percent at the register.

"We did it for consitency purposes and to show our customers how much we appreciated them," Petch said.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson said the decision to opt out of the sales tax holiday wasn't an easy one for the city council to make during its June 1 meeting. Knudtson said the city could have lost between $40,000 and $50,000 in revenue if it had participated.

"Historically I have always supported the holiday because I do believe that the spirit of this initiative is admirable," Knudtson said. "Unfortunately, given the financial challenges of today, we simply didn't have the luxury of forgoing this precious revenue."

Knudtson would not rule out participation in next year's sales tax holiday.

"If, in fact, it is clear that people chose to shop elsewhere because of the city opting out, then perhaps we made a poor decision," Knudtson said. "Next year's council will be able to evaluate the situation and the impact and make a different decision. Based on the facts that the council was presented with this year, we feel it was the responsible thing to do. We'll

see."

Brian Gerau, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, expects an increase in business that Cape Girardeau would have gotten if it had elected to participate in the holiday.

"We're pretty fortunate to be in the situation to draw more people to our stores to purchase school supplies and other items for the upcoming year," Gerau said. "If they don't have to travel very far to save on those items, I'm sure they'll take advantage of it."

Ann Fields of Jackson said that while she doesn't have any children who would qualify she believes the holiday is a positive move for everyone.

"The young families will especially benefit because when you're raising kids every penny saved counts," said Fields as the was shopping for clothes at Dollar General in Jackson.

Lorenz Shoe Store began its annual anniversary sale Friday. Employee Janet McClard expects business be steady throughout the weekend.

"They'll take advantage of the no-tax savings," McClard said. "We normally get a lot of customers during the sale when it's held in June or July, so this is just an added

bonus."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent addresses:

125 E. Main St., Jackson, MO

121 S. High St., Jackson, MO

530 W. Main St., Jackson, MO

3051 E. Jackson Blvd., Jackson, MO

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO