For those making purchases in Montgomery County, this means a savings of 9.5 percent on purchases that meet the tax free requirements.

What’s Tax-Free?
Tax-free items include clothing with a price of $100.00 or less per item, school and school art supplies with a price of $100.00 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less. These items are exempt from state and local sales tax in Tennessee during the holiday. Local governments are held harmless and are reimbursed lost sales tax revenues by the state.

Who Can Participate?
Any individual can make a tax-free purchase during the holiday. However, items purchased for use by a trade or business are not exempt.

Can I Order by Mail, Telephone, E-Mail or Internet?
The holiday also includes purchases of qualified items sold via mail, telephone, e-mail or Internet if the customer orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.

What if the Item is Backlogged or on Backorder?
If a customer wishes to order a certain tax-free item during the holiday and it is not in stock, the item remains tax-free upon delivery. In other words, backlogs and backorders outside the buyer’s control will not affect the exempt status of tax-free items. Intentionally delayed sales are taxable.

What if I Want to Place an Item on Layaway or Pay for an Item That is Currently On Layaway?
Qualified items previously placed on layaway are exempt when the final payment is made during the holiday. Items are also exempt if placed on layaway during the holiday and the final payment is made after the exemption period.

When Did Sales Tax Holidays Start in Tennessee?
Tennessee Code Annotated 67-6-393 established annual sales tax holidays in Tennessee in 2006. The first Sales Tax Holiday was August 4th-6th, 2006, saving Tennesseans about $15 million. Since then, Tennesseans have enjoyed $8 to $10 million in tax savings each holiday.

Clothing ($100.00 or less)

Tax-Free Items Include:

Items Subject to Sales Tax Include:

Clothing Accessories: Belt Buckles (sold separately), Briefcases, Cosmetics,
Hair Notions, Handbags, Jewelry, Patches and Emblems (sold separately), Sewing Equipment and Supplies, Sewing Materials, Sunglasses, Umbrellas, Wallets, and Watches.

Protective Equipment: Breathing Masks, Face Shields, Hard Hats, Hearing Protectors, Helmets, Paint or Dust Respirators, Protective Gloves and Welder’s Gloves, Safety Glasses and Goggles, and Tool Belts.

Sports or Recreational Equipment: Ballet or Tap Shoes, Cleated or Spiked Athletic Shoes, Gloves (Baseball, Boxing, Golf), Goggles, Hand and Elbow Guards, Life Preservers and Vests, Mouth Guards, Roller and Ice Skates, Shin Guards, Shoulder Pads, Ski Boots, and Wet Suits and Fins.

School & Art Supplies ($100.00 or less)

Tax-Free Items Include:

Items Subject to Sales Tax Include:

School Computer Supplies: Compact Disks, Computer Printers, Computer Storage Media, Diskettes, Handheld Electronic Schedulers, Personal Digital Assistants, and Printer Supplies including Paper and Ink.

Note: Textbooks and Workbooks are always exempt from sales tax.

Computers ($1,500 or less)

Tax-Free Items Include:

• Computers with a purchase price of $1,500 or less, not for use in a trade or
  business, are exempt from sales tax.
• A computer is a central processing unit (CPU) that includes a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, cables to connect components, and preloaded software.

Items Subject to Sales Tax Include:

Computer parts: Monitors, Keyboards, Speakers, and Scanners when not sold in conjunction with a CPU. Individually purchased Software, or other software not part of a preloaded software package on the initial purchase of a computer.

Storage Media: such as Diskettes and Compact disks. Handheld Electronic Schedulers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and Video Game Consoles, Computer Printers, and Printer Supplies including Paper and Ink.

For More Information

Please contact the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

Online: www.tntaxholiday.com or www.TN.gov/Revenue
E-mail: salestax.holiday@TN.gov
Telephone: 800.342.1003
Monday – Friday, 7:00am – 5:00pm, Central Time.

Dallas, TN – Learning the simple steps of Hands-OnlyTM CPR is now even easier – and can be easy on the eyes too.

The American Heart Association has launched a new digital application at www.handsonlycpr.org/handson that walks you through the two steps of Hands-OnlyTM CPR: calling 9-1-1 and pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest until professional help arrives. You try it out on a female or male torso that you choose from a gallery of bodies. When you’re done, you can share the application with friends and family via Facebook or Twitter.

Gotham, a New York ad agency, created the Web-based interactive application for the American Heart Association and Ad Council.

“We took a novel approach with the execution to increase the likelihood of viewer engagement and pass on — with the intention to help save lives,” said Peter McGuinness, chairman and CEO of Gotham.

Nearly 300,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually — 80 percent at home, according to the American Heart Association. Less than 10 percent of those home victims survive, largely because seventy percent of Americans feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they either don’t know how to administer CPR or their training has significantly lapsed. But performing Hands-OnlyTM CPR on adults who suddenly collapse can more than double their chances of survival, the association said.

“All Americans, at a minimum, should know Hands-OnlyTM CPR — and use it — so we can really make a dent in improving survival from sudden cardiac arrest,” said Michael Sayre, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. “The new digital application is fun, engaging and takes just a few minutes. Anyone can take the time to learn this lifesaving skill.”

Building on a nationwide campaign launched in 2009, Gotham has also developed a series of Web banners to promote the new application. An integrated social media program will also extend the reach of the new application through blog outreach and online partnerships that engage and educate adults.

“This innovative digital application engages Americans in learning the best way to perform Hands-OnlyTM CPR in a very fun and clever way,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “I encourage everyone to take a minute out of their lives to use the application and share it with their friends and loved ones.”

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or join us, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or any of our offices around the country, or visit heart.org.

The Ad Council

The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives.

Gotham

Gotham’s 160 employees service the integrated communication needs of clients in fashion and beauty, retail, healthcare, financial services, and packaged goods categories. Clients include: Lindt, Fresh Direct, Yellowbook.com, Sony Ericsson, Bausch & Lomb, Maybelline, Remington, RSM McGladrey, Newman’s Own and Wedgewood. For more information, visit www.gothaminc.com.

Yonkers, NY – Just how frustrated are Americans with the state of customer service? According to a new Consumer Reports’ survey, 65 percent are “tremendously annoyed” by rude salespeople and 64 percent of respondents said that they had left a store in the previous 12 months because of poor service. This survey is part of a larger investigation on customer service featured in the July issue of Consumer Reports and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.

The report names Walmart among the worst in customer service for its retail service in eight out of 21 industries evaluated.

Consumer Reports also found that 71 percent of survey respondents were extremely irritated when they couldn’t reach a human on the phone. Sixty-seven percent said they hung up the phone without getting their issue resolved.

“There’s a feeling on the part of Americans that companies are deliberately making it difficult for them by burying phone numbers, sidestepping calls and steering customers to online FAQs instead of live human beings,” said Tod Marks, senior project editor for Consumer Reports.

While brokerage firms, eyeglass retailers and pharmacies were among the highest-rated industries for service based on several years worth of subscriber-survey data analyzed by Consumer Reports National Research Center, computer tech support, TV, phone and Internet service providers earned some of the lowest scores.

In the report, Consumer Reports identifies the best and worst companies and service providers in each of 21 industries. Walmart or Sam’s Club, and sometimes both, were among the worst in eight categories, including retailers for appliances, electronics, cell phones and supermarkets. By comparison, Apple won praise for its retail service for cell phones, computers, computer tech support and electronics.

Customer Service Gripes

In Consumer Reports survey, respondents rated gripes on a 10-point scale, with 10 being the most annoying.

Here are some of the most and least annoying gripes for costumers:

How to Complain Effectively

Consumer Reports survey found that when it comes to customer-service problems, one in five people favor the phone. Only 16 percent of Americans prefer to deal with the issue in person. Most of the respondents said that their preferred method of contact depends on the nature of the problem. No matter how consumers choose to get help, Consumer Reports recommends some tips for reaching a live person and achieving favorable results.

• Bypass automated phone menus. Websites such as dialAHuman.com and getHuman.com list customer-service numbers and tell how to bypass automated prompts to get a real person. Another free service, LucyPhone, helps consumers avoid waiting on hold by allowing them to provide their phone number and the service calls back when a live representative is on the line.
• Keep a record. When calling customer service, consumers should keep track of the date and time of the call, the name and location of whom (or everyone) they spoke with, how many times they were put on hold and for how long, and the responses received. Having all this information provides a stronger case if there is a need for follow up.
• Take it to the next level. Consumers who encounter a runaround should tell the agent they are speaking with that they want to “escalate” the status of the complaint. That’s a guaranteed attention grabber and a reason for a quick fix because agents can be criticized for bumping too many problems upstairs.
• Be persistent. Speak loudly and often. Consumers should post their stories on social-networks sites if necessary. Companies can hide comments on Facebook but not on Twitter. When using Twitter, use hashtag keywords to make them searchable. Proper “netiquette” suggests good manners no matter what the level of annoyance.
• Give praise. To avoid being branded a whiner, consumers who have complained, especially publicly, should thank a company for a good outcome.

Consumer Reports Survey Methodology

Consumer Reports National Research conducted a phone survey from March 10th, 2011 to March 13th, 2011 that utilized an unrestricted random sampling procedure that controls the amount of serial bias found in systematic sampling to generate its random-digit-dial sample. Analyses were conducted with the sample weighted to reflect national demographics. A total of 1,010 surveys were completed by adults aged 18+. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Yonkers, NY – Of the 20 million minors who actively used Facebook in the past year, 7.5 million of them were younger than 13, according to projections from Consumer Reports’ latest State of the Net survey. Facebook’s terms of service require users to be at least 13 years old.

Also among this group of minors using Facebook, more than 5 million were 10 and under. Consumer Reports survey found that their accounts were largely unsupervised by their parents, exposing them to malware or serious threats such as predators or bullies. The report on Internet security, which includes the full survey results and advice for parents of Facebook users, is featured in the June issue of Consumer Reports and on www.ConsumerReports.org.

“Despite Facebook’s age requirements, many kids are using the site who shouldn’t be,” says Jeff Fox, Technology Editor for Consumer Reports. “What’s even more troubling was the finding from our survey that indicated that a majority of parents of kids 10 and under seemed largely unconcerned by their children’s use of the site.”

Using Facebook presents children and their friends and family with safety, security and privacy risks. In the past year, the use of Facebook has exposed more than five million online U.S. households to some type of abuse including virus infections, identity theft, and—for a million children—bullying, the survey shows.

Social media is just one of the many ways consumers expose themselves and make themselves vulnerable to becoming a victim of identity theft or having to replace their computer. Earlier this year, Consumer Reports surveyed 2,089 online households nationwide and found that one-third had experienced a malicious software infection in the previous year. Consumer Reports estimates that malware cost consumers $2.3 billion last year and forced them to replace 1.3 millions PCs.

Increasing dependence on mobile phones has made consumers more susceptible to threats as well. Using data from the survey, Consumer Reports projects that millions of people jeopardize bank information, medical records, and other sensitive data by storing it on their mobile phones. Almost 30 percent of respondents who said they use their phones in such ways didn’t take precautions to secure their phones.

Being Social but Safe

• Monitor a child’s account. Parents should join their children’s circle of friends on Facebook. If that’s not feasible with an older teenager, keep tabs on them through their friends or siblings, as did 18 percent of parents surveyed who had 13- to 17-year olds on Facebook. Parents should delete a pre-teen’s account or ask Facebook to do so by using its “report an underage child” form.
• Utilize privacy controls. Roughly one in five active adult Facebook users said they hadn’t utilized Facebook’s privacy controls, making them more vulnerable to threats. Facebook’s privacy controls may not prevent every breach but they help. Users should set everything they can to be accessible only to those on their friends list. Enabling a public search allows users’ profile picture, friends list, activities and more to be visible online outside of Facebook.
• Turn off Instant Personalization. Facebook has been adding sites to its Instant Personalization feature, which automatically links accounts to user-review sites such as TripAdvisor (travel) and Yelp (local businesses). Users who don’t wish to share what cities they have visited with their Facebook friends via TripAdvisor should disable Instant Personalization, which is turned on by default.
• Use apps with caution. Even though Facebook says in its privacy policy that it doesn’t share identifiable information with advertisers without permission, connecting with an app or website allows access to general information. Users should check the list of apps they are using and define the settings for each one listed. Decide what information the app can access, when possible, or perhaps eliminate the app altogether. Also, users should limit access to their information that is available to apps that friends use.

Protecting a Mobile Phone

• Use a password or PIN. The easiest way to protect data against loss is with a personal identification number (PIN) or password on a phone. Most cell and smart phones have an option to do so under settings or security options. Consumer Reports’ survey found that only about 20 percent of mobile phone owners using their phones in potentially risky ways such as storing sensitive data had taken this precaution.
• Take advantage of security services. Many smart-phone makers offer free security services such as over-the-air backup, remote phone locating, remote phone locking, and erasing of data and account information. There’s software available that allows users to lock the phone or erase data remotely. Users who don’t need the phone’s GPS feature should disable it.
• Use caution when downloading apps. Only download apps from recognized sources. Make sure many others have already used it and read reviews before downloading it. Also, scrutinize the permissions an app requests. If any seem questionable, such as a request to track location when there’s no obvious need for the app to do so, don’t download the app.

Additional findings from Consumer Reports latest State of the Net are featured in the June issue of Consumer Reports magazine available on newsstands on May 10th or online at www.ConsumerReports.org. The cover report “Your Security” also highlights 25 things cops and crooks say consumers do to make them an easy target of crime, how bank, credit cards and other accounts are vulnerable to thieves, and Ratings of door locks and security software.

Armonk, NY

• You’ll beam up your friends in 3-D
• Batteries will breathe air to power our devices
• You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet
• Your commute will be personalized
• Computers will help energize your city

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Next Five in Five is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s Labs around the world that can make these innovations possible.

In the next five years, technology innovations will change people’s lives in the following ways:

You’ll beam up your friends in 3-D

In the next five years, 3-D interfaces – like those in the movies – will let you interact with 3-D holograms of your friends in real time. Movies and TVs are already moving to 3-D, and as 3-D and holographic cameras get more sophisticated and miniaturized to fit into cell phones, you will be able to interact with photos, browse the Web and chat with your friends in entirely new ways.

Scientists are working to improve video chat to become holography chat – or “3-D telepresence.” The technique uses light beams scattered from objects and reconstructs a picture of that object, a similar technique to the one human eyes use to visualize our surroundings.

You’ll be able to see more than your friends in 3-D, too. Just as a flat map of the earth has distortion at the poles that makes flight patterns look indirect, there is also distortion of data – which is becoming greater as digital information becomes “smarter” – like your digital photo album. Photos are now geo-tagged, the Web is capable of synching information across devices and computer interfaces are becoming more natural.

Scientists at IBM Research are working on new ways to visualize 3-D data, working on technology that would allow engineers to step inside designs of everything from buildings to software programs, running simulations of how diseases spread across an interactive 3-D globe, and visualizing trends happening around the world on Twitter – all in real time and with little to no distortion.

Batteries will breathe air to power our devices

Ever wish you could make your laptop battery last all day without needing a charge? Or what about a cell phone that powers up by being carried in your pocket?

In the next five years, scientific advances in transistors and battery technology will allow your devices to last about 10 times longer than they do today. And better yet, in some cases, batteries may disappear altogether in smaller devices.

Instead of the heavy lithium-ion batteries used today, scientists are working on batteries that use the air we breath to react with energy-dense metal, eliminating a key inhibitor to longer lasting batteries. If successful, the result will be a lightweight, powerful and rechargeable battery capable of powering everything from electric cars to consumer devices.

But what if we could eliminate batteries altogether?

By rethinking the basic building block of electronic devices, the transistor, IBM is aiming to reduce the amount of energy per transistor to less than 0.5 volts. With energy demands this low, we might be able to lose the battery altogether in some devices like mobile phones or e-readers.

The result would be battery-free electronic devices that can be charged using a technique called energy scavenging. Some wrist watches use this today – they require no winding and charge based on the movement of your arm. The same concept could be used to charge mobile phones, for example – just shake and dial.

You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet

While you may not be a physicist, you are a walking sensor. In five years, sensors in your phone, your car, your wallet and even your tweets will collect data that will give scientists a real-time picture of your environment. You’ll be able to contribute this data to fight global warming, save endangered species or track invasive plants or animals that threaten ecosystems around the world. In the next five years, a whole class of “citizen scientists” will emerge, using simple sensors that already exist to create massive data sets for research.

Simple observations such as when the first thaw occurs in your town, when the mosquitoes first appear, if there’s no water running where a stream should be – all this is valuable data that scientists don’t have in large sets today. Even your laptop can be used as a sensor to detect seismic activity. If properly employed and connected to a network of other computers, your laptop can help map out the aftermath of an earthquake quickly, speeding up the work of emergency responders and potentially saving lives.

IBM recently patented a technique that enables a system to accurately and precisely conduct post-event analysis of seismic events, such as earthquakes, as well as provide early warnings for tsunamis, which can follow earthquakes. The invention also provides the ability to rapidly measure and analyze the damage zone of an earthquake to help prioritize emergency response needed following an earthquake.

The company is also contributing mobile phone “apps” that allow typical citizens to contribute invaluable data to causes, like improving the quality of drinking water or reporting noise pollution. Already, an app called Creek Watch allows citizens to take a snapshot of a creek or stream, answer three simple questions about it and the data is automatically accessible by the local water authority.

Your commute will be personalized

Imagine your commute with no jam-packed highways, no crowded subways, no construction delays and not having to worry about being late for work. In the next five years, advanced analytics technologies will provide personalized recommendations that get commuters where they need to go in the fastest time. Adaptive traffic systems will intuitively learn traveler patterns and behavior to provide more dynamic travel safety and route information to travelers than is available today.

IBM researchers are developing new models that will predict the outcomes of varying transportation routes to provide information that goes well beyond traditional traffic reports, after-the fact devices that only indicate where you are already located in a traffic jam, and web-based applications that give estimated travel time in traffic.

Using new mathematical models and IBM’s predictive analytics technologies, the researchers will analyze and combine multiple possible scenarios that can affect commuters to deliver the best routes for daily travel, including many factors, such as traffic accidents, commuter’s location, current and planned road construction, most traveled days of the week, expected work start times, local events that may impact traffic, alternate options of transportation such as rail or ferries, parking availability and weather.

For example, by combining predictive analytics with real-time information about current travel congestion from sensors and other data, the system could recommend better ways to get to a destination, such as how to get to a nearby mass transit hub, whether the train is predicted to be on time, and whether parking is predicted to be available at the train station. New systems can learn from regular travel patterns where you are likely to go and then integrate all available data and prediction models to pinpoint the best route.

Computers will help energize your city

Innovations in computers and data centers are enabling the excessive heat and energy that they give off to do things like heat buildings in the winter and power air conditioning in the summer. Can you imagine if the energy poured into the world’s data centers could in turn be recycled for a city’s use?

Up to 50 percent of the energy consumed by a modern data center goes toward air cooling. Most of the heat is then wasted because it is just dumped into the atmosphere. With new technologies, such as novel on-chip water-cooling systems developed by IBM, the thermal energy from a cluster of computer processors can be efficiently recycled to provide hot water for an office or houses.

A pilot project in Switzerland involving a computer system fitted with the technology is expected to save up to 30 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of an 85 percent carbon footprint reduction. A novel network of microfluidic capillaries inside a heat sink is attached to the surface of each chip in the computer cluster, which allows water to be piped to within microns of the semiconductor material itself. By having water flow so close to each chip, heat can be removed more efficiently. Water heated to 60 degrees C is then passed through a heat exchanger to provide heat that is delivered elsewhere.

Yonkers, NY – Shoppers need not look any further than their wallets in search of the perfect holiday gift. Money is among the most wanted gift this year. That’s according to a new Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll, which also found that 58 percent of people plan on giving cash as a gift this year.

Aside from cold-hard cash, Americans also cited electronics and gift cards as the most desirable gifts to both give and get. The full results of this latest poll are available at www.ConsumerReports.org.

“You can’t fault consumers for focusing on the fundamentals,” said Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor and resident shopping expert. “Cash makes a great gift because people can buy something they really need or really want.”

Here’s the breakdown on what Americans plan to bestow on others this holiday season: clothing (68%), electronics (62%), gifts cards (62%), toys (62%) and cash (58%).

“Dropping prices on mature products like TVs and laptops, and some hot new categories like tablet computers and e-book readers, have helped keep electronics on the top of many gift lists this holiday season,” said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor of Consumer Reports.

Other highlights from the first Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll of 2010 include:

Popular Electronics

• Video games are the most popular electronics item this year with 39 percent of adults considering giving them as a gift. And in households with kids under 12, over half (59%) plan to do so.
• Video game accessories are a hot commodity as well. Eighteen percent consider buying them. That’s not too surprising, taking into account the upcoming – and much-anticipated – Microsoft Kinect and Sony Move motion-sensitive controllers.
• Video games aren’t for everyone. Other popular electronics that people plan on giving this year include MP3 players or iPods (18%), digital cameras (14%), digital photo frames (11%), and GPS devices (10%). Despite lower prices and new 3D technology, only 8 percent of people are planning on giving a TV as a gift.
• Improved, Wi-Fi-enabled e-book readers and tablet computers are among the newer technologies available to shoppers this holiday season. E-book reader manufacturers may see an increase in sales thanks to newer features and lower prices as 10 percent of Americans plan to give one, up 6 percentage points from last year. Eight percent of adults are considering giving new technology – iPads and other tablet computers – as a gift.

Gift Cards: A Popular Gift that Goes Unused

• Gift cards are a hot ticket despite drawbacks. Many people plan on buying gift cards (62%) and many named them as their most wanted gift (13%).
• Though recent Federal rules have placed restrictions on onerous fees and ridiculously short expiration dates, the negatives haven’t disappeared completely. What’s more, as of mid-October, just over a quarter (27%) of those who received a gift card last year have yet to use one of them, often because they did not have time (51%) or they simply forgot about it (41%).

Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll Methodology

The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted two telephone surveys of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households. 1,023 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+ between January 7th–10th, 2010 for the post 2009 holiday data. Another 1,010 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+ between October 14th–18th, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 3% points at a 95% confidence level.

“The annual Sales Tax Holiday was designed with Tennessee families in mind,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “The holiday provides much needed savings for all Tennessee shoppers and prepares children for success by making sure they start the first day of school properly equipped with items they need.”

The holiday begins Friday, August 6th at 12:01am and ends Sunday, August 8th at 11:59pm. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100.00 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100.00 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.

“Last year’s tax-free weekend was extremely successful in giving back to Tennesseans, providing nearly $8 million in tax savings to Tennessee families,” said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr. “We are hopeful that all Tennessee shoppers will enjoy the immediate relief of the 2010 Sales Tax Holiday.”

Please visit the Sales Tax Holiday Web site at www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7:00am to 5:00pm Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial (615) 253-0600.)

In a continued effort to promote Tennessee’s sales tax holiday, the Department of Revenue has launched a new dedicated facebook page at www.facebook.com/TNTaxHoliday.

Examples of exempt items include:

• Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves
• School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors
• Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors
• Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.) iPad’s are eligible for tax exemption, video games and consoles are not.

About the Tennessee Department of Revenue

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the department collected $10.2 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.

The holiday begins Friday, August 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less. Visit www.tntaxholiday.com for more information on the holiday.

“All Tennesseans can use this weekend as an opportunity to save money on back-to-school items and other needed purchases,” said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr. “Shoppers have the chance to save nearly 10 percent on all purchases, something that many families need right now.”

AugTaxHoliday.mp3

Please visit www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial (615) 253-0600.)

Examples of exempt items include:

• Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves
• School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors
• Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors
• Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.)

About the Tennessee Department of Revenue

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the department collected $10.2 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.