For the past three years, Ohio shoppers have been granted relief from paying sales taxes on clothing items up to $75 each and on school supplies worth up to $20 per item, such as book bags and notebooks.
The state expects to lose $16.3 million a year on the holiday while local governments and libraries will likely forgo $600,000 a year and transit authorities will lose $4.1 million a year in tax revenues, according to the Legislative Service Commission analysis.
State Sen. Kevin Bacon, R-Minerva, who sponsored the bill, maintained that previous sales tax holidays provided economic stimulus that allowed the state to break even or increase tax revenues.
Sales tax rates vary by county and range from 6.5 percent to 8 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Related: Eyeglasses may be exempt from sales tax
The back-to-school sales tax holiday will take place on the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August.
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