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Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Shrinks

Retailers are gearing up for the back-to-school sales tax holiday, the second-busiest shopping event of the year.

From Friday through Sunday, shoppers will see tax breaks on clothes costing less than 60 dollars and routine schools supplies under 15 dollars.

Last year, the window lasted 10 days and consumers got a break on up to 750 dollars-worth of personal computing equipment. But Florida Retail Federation spokesman James Miller says there will still be plenty of bargains.

“It’s going to be a very popular one and that’s why we encourage people to do as much research ahead of time as you can and identify the items you want to buy and also the stores you want to buy them at.”

Economists estimate state coffers will take a 23.3 million dollar hit without the tax collections, and local governments will lose about 5.4 million dollars.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.