On your mark, get set, shop!

With a built-in 7 percent discount, thanks to the sales tax holiday, area shoppers will be in overdrive as they hit Fayette retailers this Thursday through Sunday.

Many shoppers are expected to be in the market for back-to-school items, as that’s one main reason behind the timing of the sales tax holiday.

The sales tax holiday won’t help the state’s depleted tax coffers, but it will help the retail industry, which accounts for 779,000 jobs, some 18 percent of Georgia’s workforce, according to the Georgia Retail Association.

While back to school spending is expected to trend downward by 7.7 percent nationwide, GRA is hopeful good deals and no sales tax will help Georgia avoid the trend.

The sales tax break applies to select items including clothing up to $100 per item, personal computers and/or related accessories up to $1,500 and general school supplies of less than $20 each per item.

Items not exempt from the sales taxes include: Clothing accessories such as handbags, umbrellas, cuff links, handkerchiefs, jewelry, key cases, wallets, watches and watch bands, and ponytail holders and/or similar hair products are not exempt from sales taxes during the holiday, officials said.

In the school supply category, all books except children’s books, dictionaries and thesauruses are not tax-exempt.

In the computer category non-exempt purchases include games, MP3 players, cellphones, digital cameras, projectors, cases, video games or any gaming software, LCD and plasma TVs, joysticks and any CD or DVD with pre-recorded content.

The exemptions will not apply to items sold at theme parks, entertainment complexes, hotels, restaurants and airports, state officials said.

More information on the sales tax holiday can be found here.

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