Tax-free holiday, community events ring in school year in the Albany area

ALBANY — Shoppers in Southwest Georgia were taking advantage of discounts just ahead of the coming school year through the tax-free holiday this weekend.

Public schools in Dougherty County start Tuesday while Lee County returns Friday.

Shaneika Hall, of Albany, the mother of an 8 year old and 4 year old, found herself double-buying this year for school supplies. She almost started her back-to-school shopping earlier in the week, but after finding out this weekend was the holiday when sales tax is not applied to many back-to-school items, she decided to wait.

She started out her day on Saturday at the Dollar General on North Jefferson Street.

“It is a great opportunity because I was actually going to start school shopping when I found out the exact date (of the tax-free holiday),” she said. “I thought, why not wait one more day?”

Closer to the Albany Mall, the parking lot for the T.J. Maxx and Shoe Station on Dawson Road was nearly full at 11:45 a.m. At the Shoe Station, adults were taking their children and grandchildren in to buy new footwear.

Tawana Holland, of Leesburg, was buying shoes for her children before the start of the school year this week. Supplying shoes for children can be expensive, so the tax-free holiday has the potential to have a significant impact on a family budget, she said.

“I think it is great (opportunity to save money), because it does help — especially those on a budget,” she said.

While the focus this weekend was on back-to-school items, there were some shoppers who had a different focus this weekend. At Turner’s Fine Furniture on U.S. Highway 82, there was also a chance to save some money.

Charlene McClure of Leesburg was in the market for a recliner when she found out Turner was participating in the holiday. While she could afford the recliner without the discount, she said she values the extra change in her pocket she gets in the process — especially when perks are in short supply.

“The government does not do a whole lot (in terms of) incentives,” she said. “It’s nice they take us into consideration.”

Aside from the tax holiday, there were other events taking place on Saturday to bring in the new school year. Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church on Newton Road, with the help of Amerigroup Community Care and other community vendors, hosted a back-to-school bash to give away supplies and provide family-friendly activities.

Chick-fil-A locations in the Albany area also had boxes set up as part of the “Stuff the Bus” drive for the community to donate school supplies for the children who are attending schools in Dougherty, Lee and Mitchell counties.

The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget estimated ahead of the the two-day holiday that Georgians would be saving up to $74.5 million this weekend. Under state law, the holiday started at midnight Friday and concludes today at midnight.

“The back-to-school tax-free holiday allows Georgia’s families and students to save money on crucial school items, clothing and technology during a time of year when household expenses add up quickly,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement on Thursday. “I commend the General Assembly for working with me to reduce taxpayer burdens in order to make our state a better place to work and raise a family, and it is my hope that parents and students will use this weekend to prepare for a successful school year.”

Some of the exempt items include clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100 or less per item, computers or computer components and pre-written software purchased for noncommercial home or personal use with a sales price of $1,000 or less per item, and school supplies purchased for noncommercial use with a sales price of $20 or less per item.

Data provided by Synchrony Financial shows that over a third of parents with children in grades K-12 or in college are expecting to spend more on clothing, shoes and electronics this year. Supply lists have increased 39 percent for parents with students in grades K-12, and while many are shopping online, brick-and-mortar retailers still prevail with 65 percent of parents and 61 percent of college students making the majority of their back-to-school purchases in-store.