Tax Holidays: Love ‘Em, Hate ‘Em? You Decide!

For those in Missouri, it’s that time of year again. The Cardinals are fighting for the playoffs, the Royals are fighting to stay out of last place, the temperature and humidity are becoming too high, and it’s a tax holiday weekend! Yes, this is the weekend where all parents with school aged children will flock to the nearest big box store, desperate to cash in on the no-sales-tax weekend during which they will probably end up spending more money then they intended. But who cares? NO TAXES!

The validity of these types of tax holidays has long been debated on this blog, with both sides offering convincing arguments. Personally, I don’t mind the tax holidays. I don’t like taxes in any form, and any time I can get rid of them, I am happy. I know some people will take a more complicated viewpoint that the tax holiday is just distorting regular consumer behavior, and I agree, but I just don’t mind it happening this weekend. The net effects, one way or another, will probably be so minuscule that there will be no real impact on the economy.

Of course, I would favor lower taxes year-round, but for now, I will take what I can get. This argument has sparked uproar in the office, and I suspect several related blog posts will follow this one. I realize that this sales tax holiday is really nothing more than a gimmick conjured up by legislatures, and I guess they found a sucker.