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With the possibility of something brewing in the Caribbean, headed toward the Gulf of Mexico with Florida possibly in its sights, retailers hope Floridians will stock up on storm supplies — they won't pay sales tax on most of it.
Just like at the start of the hurricane season back in June, the state of Florida is offering a sales tax holiday on supplies needed to ride out or recover from a storm.
And, with the possibility of something brewing in the Caribbean, headed toward the Gulf of Mexico with Florida possibly in its sights, retailers hope Floridians will stock up on storm supplies.
The holiday starts Saturday and runs through Sept. 8.
“Maybe in June, hurricanes weren’t so much on everybody’s mind. Clearly, the tropics have lit up over the past few weeks and people are concerned about hurricanes,” Florida Retail Federation President Scott Shalley said. “I think it (the tax holiday) is a great opportunity to get out, get prepared and save some money as we enter the heart of the hurricane season.”
During the disaster-preparedness holiday, here are some examples of items that will be tax free:
Ice packs that cost $20 or less.
Batteries that cost $50 or less.
Non-electric food coolers that cost $60 or less.
Carbon monoxide detectors that cost $70 or less.
Tarpaulins that cost $100 or less.
Portable generators that cost $3,000 or less.
The full list can be found at: https://floridarevenue.com/DisasterPrep/Pages/default.aspx.
Meanwhile, a seven-day “tool time” tax holiday will start Sept. 2 to coincide with the Labor Day weekend and offer sales-tax exemptions on a variety of goods, such as tools and work boots. Here are some examples of items that will be tax free:
Work gloves that cost $25 or less.
Hand tools and safety glasses that cost $50 or less.
Tool boxes that cost $75 or less.
Tool belts and hard hats that cost $100 or less.
Work boots that cost $175 or less.
Power tools that cost $300 or less.
Full lists of items that are tax free during the holidays can be found online at https://floridarevenue.com/Pages/default.aspx
Jim Turner and Tom Urban of News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
