A summer holiday for our wallets sounds good

How about a new holiday in Washington state?

Not the kind most of us are accustomed to. This holiday would come in August and be directed toward our children and students. It would ease the burden of paying sales tax on all school supplies under $10 and clothing under $100.

Under my proposed legislation, you would mark the second weekend of August on your calendars as the annual “back-to-school” sales tax holiday.

As a father of three kids, I know how expensive it is to get ready to go back to school each year. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American family, with kids in grades K-12, spends roughly $650 each year on school supplies.

Implementing a sales tax holiday would put money back in the pockets of working families.

But it not only would benefit our children going back to school, it also would help our businesses. It is a great way to keep shopping local and within state borders. It alleviates the need for people to cross the border into Oregon to avoid paying sales tax.

You would be able to stay local and help boost your local economy. It benefits businesses and gives back to taxpayers.

A sales tax holiday is not a new concept. In fact, it has been around for decades. Washington state needs to become the leader on the West Coast and join the other 17 states nationwide that participate in this holiday.

Even though this idea did not make it out of committee in Olympia this session, fear not. I will continue to work the idea forward and reintroduce it next session.

Let’s send a clear message that nothing is more important than making sure children have what they need to be successful in school, and that we value the hard-earned dollars of our taxpayers.

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 1:58 PM with the headline "A summer holiday for our wallets sounds good."