A trip to the mall led to big savings for the families across South Florida who took advantage of this weekend’s back-to-school, tax-free holiday.
As summer vacation draws to a close for local students, it was time for them to hit the stores to stock up on school supplies and clothes. “We’ve been shopping,” said second-grader Andre Ulloa, who came with his family to Dolphin Mall, Saturday.
The tax-free weekend provides extra incentive to calculate the savings and get all the shopping done. “Take advantage for the uniforms and, yeah, any last-minute things that need to get purchased, we’ll do it now,” said David Ulloa, Andre’s dad.
The crowds grew gradually throughout the day at Dolphin Mall, with families looking to purchase supplies and clothes as the first day of school approaches. “A book bag, pencils, all the basic things,” said teen shopper Josie Carias.
Carias told 7News she’s very familiar with the perks of the weekend from shopping with her mom in years past. “Yeah, she’s like, ‘We’ve got to get everything,'” she said. “She said, ‘We’ve got to get the book bag, the pencils. We’ve got to get everything,’ and I’m like, ‘OK, we’ll go now.'”
Ninth-grader Kyra Johnson said her family couldn’t wait to check out the savings. “They were waiting, like, counting down for it,” she said. “They love tax-free weekend.”
Shoppers who count on the holiday year after year had to adjust to some changes this time around, including fewer days to shop. The holiday ended on Sunday at midnight.
“I didn’t know last year was 10 days,” said shopper Monica Gonzalez. “I only thought it was a weekend thing.”
Another change: Only clothes priced less than $60 instead of $100 and school supplies below $15 are free of taxes. In addition, computers and computer accessories were eliminated from Florida’s tax-free list.
Nevertheless, the average family is expected to spend more this year, with national sales expected to reach $75 billion.
You can find guidelines and a list of eligible items by going to: dor.myflorida.com/dor/tips/pdf/tip16a01-06_2016final06022016.pdf.
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