Local store managers believe the upcoming Sales Tax Holiday could be a shot in the arm for Butler County retailers.

&#8220It's a great thing anytime they cut taxes,” Randy Beeson, manager of Fred's of Greenville, said.

&#8220Any cities or counties that are not participating in it should be severely ridiculed. When you finally get the state to agree to do something like this, jump in there.”

The three-day sales tax holiday officially starts on Friday, Aug. 4, at 12:01 a.m., and ends at midnight on Sunday, Aug. 6.

The holiday applies to the following items:

n Clothing costs up to $100 per item.

n Computers, software, and computer supplies costing up to $750 per item.

n School supplies and textbooks up to $40 per item.

n Other books up to $30 each.

Wal-Mart SuperCenter Manager Bill McCrary said he expects to see more back-to-school shoppers in his stores during the &#8220holiday.”

&#8220Florida has been doing this for a while and had great results. I think it will keep some people shopping in the city and county,” McCrary said.

Beeson's main concern is that people will forget about the savings event.

&#8220I'm afraid a majority will not take advantage of this because it is going to slip up on them. But if I were fixing to spend several hundred dollars to get several kids ready for school, I'd sure want mark my calendar and to save some money,” Beeson said.

McCrary expects to see a good array &#8220across the board” of sales of back-to-school items during the sales tax holiday.

&#8220I do think we will probably have a few more clothing items than usual going into layaway, like the heavier pants and long-sleeved shirts that kids won't need early in the year. People will want to save money on those clothes.”

Beeson said he doesn't expect &#8220a real flood of folks” coming to Fred's during the three-day sales tax holiday.

&#8220I think we will see some coming in who are going to want to mop up on those back-to-school savings,” Beeson said.

&#8220Of course, if you don't have the money, the sales tax savings won't do you a lot of good. We'll just have to wait and see. I do think the sales tax holiday is a really good thing for Butler County.”