By Staff
Holiday in effect until 11:59 p.m.
By NIKIE MAYO
News Editor
The tax-free weekend that began Friday and continues through tonight has created a sales boon, according to area merchants.
North Carolina is one of about a dozen states that implement the tax-free weekend every August to help back-to-school shoppers pinch pennies. The holiday has been in place here since 2002.
Items that are eligible for tax breaks include clothing and school supplies that are $100 or less each. Computers that are $3,500 or less and computer equipment that is $250 or less is also eligible.
Because Whimsy specializes in apparel, workers made some adjustments to the store’s stock, Fowle said. The price of one brand of corduroy pants was cut by about $60 and pieces that were already on sale were “further reduced,” she said.
Then there was the tub.
A vintage bathtub near the back of the store was filled with taxable items that were $1 apiece.
At Wal-Mart, store manager Reed Clark said school supplies — notebooks, backpacks, pens and the like — were “selling like hotcakes” Saturday.
Because of the busier-than-usual weekend, Clark said most of his staff won’t get two consecutive days off while the holiday is in effect.
Next door at Goody’s, the scene was a similar one.
Dowdy, too, has increased her staff for the weekend. “We’ve got six extras on during the day and six more at night,” she said.
The tax-free weekend was also good for The Salvation Army, said production supervisor Don Jones.