Oklahoma State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

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For Immediate Release: April 6, 2009


Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield

State Senator Johnnie Crutchfield Wins Senate Support for Extension of Sales Tax Holiday to School Supplies

State Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, has won Senate approval for a measure to extend the state’s sales tax holiday to include school supplies. House Bill 1297 was approved by the Senate on Monday. The measure would cover basic school supplies, but would not include computers.

“This would cover things like pencils, notebooks, crayons, and calculators. I think this is an important bill for Oklahoma families, especially in areas close to Texas where they already offer this kind of tax break,” Crutchfield said.
Crutchfield said the cost of extending the sales tax holiday to back-to-school supplies would be approximately $7 million.

“With the current state budget situation, it makes tax cuts of any kind difficult, but this is actually one that could be doable, especially compared to some of the larger proposals,” Crutchfield said. “It just depends on how things look as we finalize the budget.”

The bill, which has already been approved by the House, will now be assigned to a conference committee.
“If we find we can afford this tax break, we’ll bring the bill out of conference for a vote,” Crutchfield said. “If it doesn’t look like we can afford it, we’ll leave it in committee so that we can return to the discussion next session with a viable option.”

For more information contact:
Sen. Crutchfield's Office - 405-521-5607