Tax Holiday for Hurricane Help?

June brings the start of a new hurricane season, and this year some Gulf states are turning to a new tool to try to help residents cope: the tax code. This week is host to Florida's third annual sales tax holiday on hurricane preparedness supplies. Louisiana offered a temporary sales tax holiday in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year, and now some lawmakers are pushing to make it an annual event. However, it is not known how much, if any, benefit shoppers receive from such sales tax holidays. Why would a store offer a 10% discount when shoppers are coming in to avoid paying the four percent state sales tax? Given the serious nature of hurricanes, the burden of proof is on lawmakers to show that this holiday will do what they say it will. People in the Gulf states deserve more than a three-day gimmick.