November 26, 2008

Associated Press Interviews Tax Counsel Joseph Henchman on South Carolina’s Gun Sales Tax Holiday

"SC's Black Friday Offers Tax-Free Guns for All"

By Seanna Adcox

The cost impact is negligible; state economic officials estimate it will cost about $15,000 at a time that South Carolina had to cut annual spending by $488 million. More cuts could be on the way to address revenue shortfalls that are also affecting most other states.

South Carolina is the only state offering any kind of tax break to shoppers over Thanksgiving weekend, said Joe Henchman, counsel for the Washington-based Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group.

He opposes tax holidays—offered in 16 states this year, largely for back-to-school supplies—as complicating the tax code and confusing customers. The tax code should not be used to make political statements, he said.

[Read the full article here.]