Illinois residents won’t have that option.

Wagner said the effects of the holiday stretch beyond the weekend, as the media benefit from advertising, and stores remain busy ordering inventory, making deliveries and restocking. As of July 29, 2015, the state has not enacted a similar law for this year.

Numerous big back-to-school ads came out last Sunday, and featuring some stores’ best deals. The retailer must provide the consumer credit for both the purchase price and sales tax paid on the item being returned.

However, each Sales Tax Holiday varies state by state.

Supporters of the sales tax holiday say it helps retailers during August, typically a slow time for sales.

The Tax Foundation says sales tax holidays are based on politics, not sound policy.

When the OCRM commissioned the University of Cincinnati Economics Center to study how a state tax holiday would affect Ohio’s economy, it concluded that there would be no substantial loss in revenue, according to Miller.

“It will be an incentive to make purchases during the holiday”, Humphrey said.

But he said the benefits of such a holiday go beyond just the dollars and cents of it. Using a gift card does not reduce the selling price of an item. There is no limit on the quantity of items purchased and sifting through the list of items reveals some intriguing options even for those well past their school days.

Items not exempt during the Oklahoma sales tax holiday is also elaborated upon.

The Buckeye State, however, will put its foot down when it comes to ballet and tap shoes, cleated athletic shoes and baseball gloves, among other things.

Massachusetts raised its sales tax rate from 5 percent to 6.25 percent in 2009.

Clothing and footwear items that cost less than $100 per item are exempt from sales tax during this period. And they fret about the $25 million in tax revenue that the state foregoes. Officials hope it will offer relief from construction delays as families prepare to send their children back to school.

“Some of these arguments have been around for a decade”, Hurst said.

Washington, D.C., once repealed its sales tax holiday.

Sonya Daniels, manager of the state and local tax practice at accounting firm CBIZ MHM in Memphis, said she has handled sales taxes for the retail industry.

For example, Target is offering “buy one, get one 50% off”, on numerous popular back-to-school items.

“It’s politically popular, but it’s awful legislation”, Silvia said on the House floor, calling the tax holiday “fat” in the budget.