Lawmakers should deliver Colorado families a back-to-school sales tax holiday (Opinion)

Raising kids should not feel like a battle against the cash register but that is what a lot of Colorado families are living through Anyone who buys groceries pays rent or tries to keep a growing child in shoes that fit knows it Prices go up Paychecks do not Parents are doing everything they can and it still feels like they are getting squeezed Back-to-school season makes it worse We are not talking about fancy extras We are talking about backpacks that do not last a full year binders that break clothes kids outgrow before they wear out and mentor supply lists that seem to get longer every fall The National Retail Federation says families are spending nearly getting kids ready for school That might be manageable for various but for a lot of Colorado families especially in rural towns where wages are not keeping up that hit can throw off a whole month of their budget Getting a child ready to learn should not come with a tax bill attached That is why we are bringing back a bill to create Colorado s first back-to-school tax holiday It is simple targeted and gives families a limited days of breathing room when they need it the bulk Here is what it does During the last weekend of July and again in and there would be no state sales and use tax on basic back-to-school items The exemption covers Clothing at or less School supplies at or less Learning aids at dollars or less That means families could buy jeans gym shoes for PE notebooks pencils backpacks calculators science workbooks art supplies and other items students use every day without paying tax These are not luxury items They are not nice to have purchases They are the tools every child demands to show up on day one ready to learn A tax holiday might not sound like a big deal to political insiders but to a parent juggling bills it matters Anyone who has had to choose between school shoes and gas money knows that even a little break can make a difference Our bill also respects the fact that cities and counties are not all the same It lets local communities choose to participate in the same holiday if they want Lawmakers who represent rural communities understand that local governments do not have endless cash available This bill does not force them to join in but it gives them the option to help their families if they can Specific might ask what this costs That is a fair question The reality is that the impact on the state budget is small especially compared to what families are facing And unlike a great number of complicated administration policies families will feel this one instantly It is not a grant they have to apply for It is not a campaign that takes months to set up It is money they do not have to spend right at the register Other states have been doing this for years because it helps Families plan for it Local stores benefit from it Kids walk into school better prepared Colorado should not be the state that lags behind common sense This bill is about priorities We cannot fix every cost-of-living concern overnight but we can at least stop taxing parents for trying to get their kids ready for school We can make one stressful time of year a little easier We can show that the legislature sees Colorado families and is willing to help in practical options Colorado families deserve a break This back-to-school tax holiday gives them one Ty Winter a Republican represents District in the Colorado House of Representatives His district includes Las Animas Baca Prowers Bent Otero Crowley and Kiowa counties along with parts of Pueblo and Huerfano counties Byron H Pelton represents state Senate District which includes all or part of Logan Morgan Phillips Sedgwick Washington Weld and Yuma counties Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns editorials and more To send a letter to the editor about this article submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail