Mayfair in Tampa Palms

Tax-free storm shopping starts Friday!!!!

May 31, 2007

Greetings:

With the beginning of hurricane season a day away, here is a reminder that items like batteries, flashlights, coolers, cell phone chargers and more can be purchased ?“tax-free?” until June 12th.

Posted on Thu, May. 31, 2007

Tax-free storm shopping starts Friday
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA

It's called a holiday, but don't expect hot dogs and beach blankets.

Just as 2007 hurricane season gets started Friday, so do 12 days of tax-free shopping for Floridians stocking on up storm-related supplies.

Get the shopping list ready for batteries, cellphone chargers, flashlights, lanterns, coolers, carbon monoxide detectors and portable generators.

This is the third year the state Legislature has allowed the tax-free shopping days for just about everything needed to prepare for a storm and then ride out the aftermath.

There are price limits on certain items, such as flashlights priced at $20 or less, storm shutters priced at $200 or less, and generators selling for $1,000 or less.

But with the sales tax in Miami-Dade at 7 percent and 6 percent in Broward, consumers can still save plenty. They can pocket nearly $1.40 on a $19.99 flashlight and almost $70 on a generator priced near the $1,000 limit.

Higher-priced generators or any item that exceeds the sales price limit set by the state won't be tax-exempt. In those cases, the entire sales price is taxed.

Regards,
Lyn