By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Missouri shoppers this weekend took advantage of the state's annual sales tax holiday on back-to-school items, which included clothing, school supplies and computers.
The three-day event, now in its seventh year, remains popular with shoppers, according to both state officials and store owners. David Overfelt of the Missouri Retailers Association says foot traffic was heavy in stores across the state.
"We were worried with the recession, but we did see a lot of traffic," Overfelt said. "We feel that (additional) sales come with that, people go out and spend money on things that do not qualify for the holiday."
Department of Revenue officials say it's hard to measure how much revenue the state loses each year during the tax holiday. But so far, it's not enough to spark any movement to kill it. Ted Farnen is D.O.R. spokesman.
"At least a couple (of) other states, including our neighbor to the east, Illinois, just instituted a new sales tax holiday, very similar to ours, even though the budget situation has been very challenging for Illinois, as it has for most states," Farnen said.