Tax holiday offers savings on storm prep
Published 1:36 am Saturday, February 17, 2018
Those who don’t have a severe weather preparedness kit can get a tax break next weekend on the items needed to fill it.
Alabama’s seventh severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday begins on Fri., Feb. 23, at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight Sun., Feb. 25.
This tax holiday allows shoppers to buy common supplies costing less than $60 that every home and business needs to prepare for a natural disaster or even a general emergency, with the exemption of some sales taxes. Alabama, Covington County, the city of Opp, and the town of Red Level are participating, which means sales taxes in those jurisdicitions will be waived. Andalusia, Florala, Gantt, and River Falls are not participating this year.
Marvin’s hardware store will be among the stores with items that qualify for the tax break..
“A lot of the things that we will be selling are all a necessity during a severe weather warning,” Kaylene Clark of Marvin’s said. “People need to go ahead and buy flash lights, batteries and even extension cords to plug in their generators because they will need to have it to be operable.”
This is a list of all the items that will be exempt from sales tax:
- AAA-cell batteries, AA-cell batteries, C-cell batteries, D-cell batteries, 6-volt batteries, 9-volt batteries
- Cellular phone battery
- Cellular phone charger
- Portable self-powered or battery-powered radio, two-way radio, weatherband radio or NOAA weather radio
- Portable self-powered light source, including battery-powered flashlights, lanterns, or emergency glow sticks
- Tarpaulin
- Plastic sheeting
- Plastic drop cloths
- Other flexible, waterproof sheeting
- Ground anchor system, such as bungee cords or rope, or tie-down kit
- Duct tape
- Plywood, window film or other materials specifically designed to protect window coverings
- Non-electric food storage cooler or water storage container
- Non-electric can opener
- Artificial ice
- Blue ice
- Ice packs
- Reusable ice
- Self-contained first aid kit
- Fire extinguisher
- Smoke detector
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Gas or Diesel fuel tank or container