Showing posts with label Tax exemption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tax exemption. Show all posts

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Virginia’s Popular Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Returns Friday

Money 2014 ...item 3d.. State worker ordered t...
(Photo credit: marsmet527)
~ School Supplies, Clothing and Footwear will be Exempt from Sales Tax ~

RICHMOND, Va. – It’s time to make your shopping list because Virginia’s popular sales tax holiday for clothing, footwear, and school and office supplies begins Friday.

For the ninth straight year, many clothing items, shoes, and school and office supplies will be sales tax-free during the first full weekend in August, which is Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3 this year.  It’s a great time to buy what you need while saving some money.

During the three-day event, most school and office supplies that cost $20 or less each, as well as clothing items and pairs of shoes priced at $100 or less each will be exempt from Virginia’s 5.3 percent state and local sales tax.  You’ll save even more in most Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads localities where the sales tax is 6 percent.  For example, if you spend $500 on qualifying items during the sales tax holiday, you’ll save $26.50 for tax exempt purchases.  You’ll save $30 in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

The list of tax-exempt items is the same as last year.  It includes pens, pencils, loose leaf ruled notebook paper, scissors, binders, backpacks, construction paper, sneakers, hats, shirts, dresses, jeans, bathing suits, diapers, T-shirts, and many more items.  There is no requirement that the purchases be made for school purposes.

All retailers who sell the exempt items are required to participate.

The tax-exempt items are available to anyone shopping in the state and there is no limit on the number of products you can buy tax-free, as long as each one qualifies under the guidelines.

“This is an event that benefits both consumers and businesses in Virginia,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe.  “Many families will be sending more than one child off to school soon and this gives them an opportunity to save money on purchases that are necessary to get them ready for class.  It also carries a universal appeal because everyone who wants to buy some clothes or office supplies can benefit during the three days of the holiday.  I urge all Virginians to go out and save some money, while supporting our retail community.”

If you can’t get out to the stores but still want to shop and save, online purchases of qualifying items are also tax-exempt during the sales tax holiday.

During the sales tax holiday, retailers may also choose to save taxpayers even more money by absorbing, or paying themselves, the sales tax on items that are not eligible for exemption.  In past years, many stores have taken advantage of this opportunity and some have sold everything in their stores tax-free.

An all-inclusive list of school and office supplies, a list of exempt clothing and footwear items, guidelines for shoppers and retailers, and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the Department’s Sales Tax Holiday Information Center at www.tax.virginia.gov.

Virginia’s other two sales tax holidays are for hurricane preparedness in May, and for energy-efficient appliances and water-saving items in October.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Virginia's Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Returns August 2-4

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in .
English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

– Many Clothing Items and School Supplies Will be Tax-Free –


RICHMOND - It's the end of July, and you've still got a whole month left to play in the pool, grill outdoors, and visit Virginia's beautiful state parks with your kids. Back-to-school shopping might be the last thing on your mind at the moment. You may want to slip your flip-flops back on and hit the stores, however, because it's time once again for Virginia's annual back-to-school sales tax holiday.
This year's holiday begins on Friday, Aug. 2, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 4. Items that will be exempt from sales tax during the holiday include most articles of clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less each, and school or office supplies that cost $20 or less per item. There is no limit to the number of items you can purchase without paying the sales tax, provided each item meets the holiday restrictions.

"After four straight years of revenue surpluses, it is evident that Virginia's economy continues to strengthen," said Governor Bob McDonnell. "I hope Virginians will go out and take advantage of this holiday by spending their back-to-school dollars at Virginia retailers. Not only will this continue to benefit our state's economy and employers, it will save Virginians some money at the same time."

A list of qualifying items, guidelines for the holiday, and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the Virginia Department of Taxation's website at http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=SchoolSuppliesAndClothingHoliday. Anyone can buy tax-exempt items during the holiday; it is not limited to purchases for students. During the tax holidays, retailers may elect to pay the sales tax themselves on any non-qualifying items that they want to offer tax-free to customers. This means great deals can likely be found on many other items as well.


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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Cincinnati IRS Workers Reveal What Really Happened – And Yes, It’s What You Think

June 10, 2013 by  
Cincinnati IRS Workers Reveal What Really Happened – And Yes, It’s What You Think
PHOTOS.COM
A pair of IRS agents who worked out of the Cincinnati office at the center of the widening Tea Party discrimination scandal told Congressional investigators that they were ordered by “higher-ups” in Washington, D.C. to target conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status.
That’s a contention, notes CBS-D.C., that “directly contradicts claims made by the agency since the scandal erupted last month.”
One Cincinnati agent, Gary Muthert, said he was instructed by a local, unnamed supervisor to go through tax-exempt applications to see if they had “Tea Party” in their titles. But that local supervisor was acting, said Muthert, on order from on high: “He told me that Washington, D.C., wanted some cases.”
Using the “Tea Party” criteria yielded a small handful of applications, but, when Muthert widened his search to include phrases like “patriots’ or “9-12 project,” he hit upon close to 40 more applications.
“I used ‘patriots’ because some of the tea partiers wouldn’t, they would shorten their name to TP Patriots,” Muthert said. “I thought, OK, I will use ‘patriot.’”
From there, Muthert’s supervisor told him that “someone in Washington” had requested to see seven of those applications, but he told investigators he never knew who that “someone” was.
Another Cincinnati IRS agent, Elizabeth Hofacre, was responsible for processing Tea Party applications that had already been flagged in 2010. Her local supervisor, also unnamed, assigned those applications to her. But an IRS attorney in Washington, D.C. named Carter Hull – who worked in the tax-exempt division – allegedly “micromanaged” Hofacre’s work and contributed to the groups’ delay in receiving tax-exempt status.
Hofacre said she thought Hull’s interest in the cases was both unusual and “demeaning.”
“It was demeaning. One of the criteria is to work independently and do research and make decisions based on your experience and education, whereas on this case, I had no autonomy at all through the process,” she told investigators.
Hull also allegedly took his time signing off on letters Hofacre sent asking the flagged groups for extra documentation. “All I remember saying and thinking is, ‘This is ridiculous.’ Because at the same time, you are getting calls from irate taxpayers. And I see their point,” she said.
If the testimony is true and leads to the uncovering of additional evidence, it will further refute the many assertions made by IRS officials and the Administration of President Barack Obama that “rogue” agents acting independently in Cincinnati were solely responsible for the election-season targeting of conservative nonprofits.



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