There's Nothing Like The Feeling Of A New Pencil For School: Michigan's Proposed Tax Holiday For Back-To-School Supplies

House Bills 4824 and 4825 were introduced and referred to the Tax Policy committee early August. These house bills propose what will be, if passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed by the Governor, the only annual tax holiday in Michigan.

The proposed tax holiday provides an exemption on certain school supplies from the state sales and use tax every third Saturday in August. As written in the bills, the following items would be exempt from tax:

Clothing, if the sales price of each individual item is not greater than $100.00; School supplies, if the sales price of each individual item is not greater than $20.00; A personal computer purchased for noncommercial home or personal use, if the sales price, less any manufacturer's rebate, of each individual personal computer is not greater than $1,000.00; and A personal computer accessory purchased for noncommercial home or personal use, if the sales price, less any manufacturer's rebate, of each individual personal computer accessory is not greater than $500.00. School supplies are defined by the bill as "pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, protractors, compasses, calculators, and similar items."

Having many educators in my family and circle of friends, August...