HOUSTON - Parents planning to purchase back to school supplies and clothes can cash in on Mississippi's sales tax holiday this weekend.

For the second year in a row the state will not collect its 7 percent sales tax on select items purchased on Friday and Saturday. Shoppers are urged to buy locally and add a savings in gasoline on top of the tax exemption.

Retail clothing, general merchandise and mom-and-pop stores across Houston and Chickasaw County are offering a variety of sales to lure shoppers to their store. Advertisements for those sales can be found in today's Chickasaw Journal.

Ron Aldridge, Mississippi state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says the July 30-31 sales tax exemption will be a big help to small businesses still recovering from the recession.

"Sales tax holidays are great for families trying to stretch a dollar, but they're also great for small businesses," Aldridge said. "They get people excited and in the mood to shop and that's exactly what our economy needs right now."

NFIB/Mississippi, the state's leading small business association, supported legislation creating the state's first sales tax holiday in 2009.

"Small business is the engine that drives Mississippi's economy," Aldridge said. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for about 97 percent of all employers in the state and employ about half of the state's private-sector workforce.

"The bottom line is the more we can increase consumer spending at our small businesses, the more jobs we can grow and save, and the faster our economy will recover," Aldridge said.

Some conditions apply

Mississippi has several special conditions to follow. Layaways are not tax exempt. Only store coupons and discounts can be used to lower the price below the dollar limit. Manufacturer's coupons can't be used to bring the price below the threshold. Rain check purchases are only exempt if the item is bought during the sales tax holiday.

Applies to:

- Clothing under $100

- Shoes under $100

"Accessories" such as jewelry, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches, backpacks, briefcases and similar items do not qualify for the Sales Tax Holiday.