From April 23 to 25, Texas residents will be able to take advantage of a sales tax holiday to stock up on emergency preparedness supplies. Intended to encourage citizens to prepare in advance of the severe weather season, the tax holiday will cover a wide assortment of goods in demand in the event of weather emergencies, including such important items as:
- Portable generators
- Hurricane shutters
- Emergency ladders
- First aid kits
- Fuel containers
Observes Clinton Thetford of Lubbock County Emergency Management, “We know in West Texas, we’re going to have winter weather, we know we’re going to have wildland fires, we know we’re going to have severe weather, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms we have haboobs that can come through and cause major damage and a lot of power outages.”
As to families using the sales tax holiday, Thetford observes “I think it’s closer to maybe 10 percent of those that are really truly prepared. So this is kind of a way to help jumpstart families into considering doing the emergency planning.”
Sources:
http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx98_1017.html
http://www.kcbd.com/story/31739659/tax-free-weekend-for-emergency-supplies-april-23-through-25
