The Florida House has approved a three day Back-to-School sales tax holiday slated for August 13th to August 15th during which books, clothes, shoes, and book bags under $50, and school supplies under $120, will be exempt from sales tax.

Florida Governor Crist is proposing a 10-day Back-To-School sales tax holiday on clothing under $100 and school supplies under $10, as part of a tax relief measure on the state budget.

Florida Governor and lawmakers are pushing for a back-to-school sales tax holiday in 2010. Each year, Florida legislature votes on whether to offer a sales tax holiday and in 2009, both the back-to-school and hurricane preparedness holidays failed to pass.

Effective 1 October 2009, all dealers in Wakulla County required to collect the 2% tourism tax must remit all tourist development taxes and sales and use taxes directly to the DOR.  All taxes collected up to 30 September 2009 will still be remitted to Wakulla County.

The Florida legislative session has ended with several sales and use tax measures failing to obtain approval. Some of the measures which failed to become law include: HB 731 (increase the state sales and use tax rate by 1%), HB 167 (sales tax holiday for Energy Star appliances), and HB 7159 (Hurricane Preparedness and Back-to-School sales tax holidays).

HB 7159 is being voted upon by the Florida legislature involving the reinstatement of the state’s two annual sales tax holidays. The bill, which has been approved by the Florida House and is awaiting Senate approval, would revive the early June sales tax holiday on hurricane preparedness supplies and the early August sales tax holiday on school supplies and accessories.

The Florida legislature is currently writing legislation to revive the sales tax holidays for back-to-school shopping and hurricane supplies by suggesting they can be paid for by eliminating several sales tax exemptions. The two holidays, which usually take place annually in August and June respectively, were eliminated last year over concerns about the state’s budget shortfalls.

The Florida legislature has introduced two bills, SB 1134 and HB 329, centered around Florida joining the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement. While these bills are currently being discussed, the Florida legislature has not yet enacted the changes to the state’s laws necessary to comply with SST requirements. The current text of the house bill would retain the state $5,000 max tax, while the senate bill would limit the $5,000 cap on discretionary sales surtax on the sale of motor vehicles, aircraft, boats, motor homes, manufactured homes, modular homes, and mobile homes.