Senate Finance Committee Votes to Expand Sales Tax Holiday

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Lawton State Senator Don Barrington’s bill to expand Oklahoma’s back-to-school sales tax holiday to include school supplies was approved by the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday.

Under current law, the sales tax holiday on the first weekend in August exempts clothing and shoes from sales tax.

Barrington’s Senate Bill 1149 expands the list of tax-exempt items to include school supplies beginning in August 2009. The bill was drafted so it would not impact the upcoming budget year.

“Oklahoma’s first sales tax holiday was a huge success for our state, which had been losing business to neighboring states like Texas. This bill will help parents save money on the school supplies they buy for their children each year,” stated Barrington, R-Lawton.

In 2007, Barrington authored the bill creating the state’s back-to-school sales tax holiday.