Tax holiday for back-to-school Ohio shoppers heads to Kasich

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio back-to-school shoppers would get a three-day reprieve from Ohio’s sales tax under a bill headed to Gov. John Kasich’s desk.

The measure cleared the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature last week.

It exempts back-to-school clothing, school supplies and instructional materials from state sales tax for three days in August 2015, creating the holiday as a one-year pilot program.

Backers estimate the tax holiday would save Ohio shoppers some $78 million. Opponents say sales tax holidays are political and represent bad tax policy.

A separate bill was introduced in March by Democratic state Sen. Edna Brown. It proposes exempting purchases of Energy Star qualified products from sales tax during the first weekend in April. With less than a week to go in the session, its prognosis is dim.

During sponsor testimony this month, Brown said her bill would “encourage increased economic activity, provide consumers with short and long term savings, and reduce pollution and energy consumption.” Energy Star qualified products are considered energy efficient.

The back-to-school tax bill, sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Bacon, a Columbus Republican, first cleared the Ohio Senate in February. Last week, the Ohio House passed an amended bill and the Senate agreed to its changes.