Bill would create tax-free weekend

Senate mulling legislation to exempt hunting and fishing equipment

With 34 of 52 Senators sponsoring a bill that would create a tax-free weekend for hunting and fishing equipment, it appears likely that S.B. 2425 would gain passage in the Mississippi Senate.

Since it is a revenue bill, it requires a three-fifths majority to pass the Senate and then the House. There appears to be plenty of support in the Senate, where only 31 votes would be required.

It must first clear the Senate Finance Committee, which also seems likely. Its chairman Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, and vice-chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, are among the bill’s 34 sponsors. Of the committee’s 26 members, 19 are among the 34 sponsors.

If the Senate passes the bill, which it must by the Feb. 26 deadline, it would still need to pass the House and get the approval of Gov. Phil Bryant.

The bill would designate the first full weekend in September, from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday of the month to midnight on the following Sunday, as sales-tax-exempt on the purchase of hunting and fishing equipment.

For hunting, the bill defines firearms — handguns, rifles and shotguns — and other tangible personal property used for hunting, including, but not limited to, accessories, bows, crossbows, arrows, hunting apparel, hunting footwear, bags, float tubes, binoculars, tools, firearm and archery cases, firearm and archery accessories, range finders, knives, decoys, tree stands, blinds, chairs, optics, hearing protection and enhancements, holsters, belts and slings.

It specifically states that the exemption would not apply to animals used for hunting, boats or motor vehicles.

Fishing equipment listed as exempt from sales tax during that period would be tangible personal property, including, but not limited to, rods, reels, fishing apparel and fishing tackle. Boats, motors and equipment used for commercial fishing would not be exempt from sales tax.

“Well, of course, I would love it,” said Van Allen, who owns Allen’s Deer Processing and Sporting Goods in Brandon. “I like it anytime they do something that promotes our business and not hurt it. I think it would be a big weekend for us, just as it has been at our Alabama store.

“They do it in Alabama and I know in the past that it was a big day for clothing, boots and accessories. If they include guns in Mississippi, I know it would be a big weekend. You take a $1,000 gun and that’s $70 savings right there.”

Allen said some outdoor companies already see the value in similar exemptions.

“Browning has done that in the past, having a tax-exempt promotion,” he said. “What they do is turn around after the sale and refund what you paid in sales tax. It is popular.”