Some Borderland Families Miss Out on Tax-Free Weekend

in texas and new mexico. this friday, saturday and sunday, you won’t pay taxes on school supplies under one-hundred bucks in texas. in new mexico, the tax-free items are a little different. find a list at kvia.com right now. welcome back to abc-seven at six, i’m rick cabrera. and i’m estela cas. some local families can’t take full advantage of the tax-free weekend. tonight, abc-seven hears why they say it’s just not fair! abc-7’s andrew j. polk is live in our newsroom. rick and estela, saving on school supplies is a nice thought – and many families plan around the tax free weekend coming up this weekend this year. “yeah, we’re waiting for th list to come out – the school to provide us a list, and we come here and just stock up on whatever they give us, whatever supply list they give us.” some people ar ready for the tax free weekend. but for socorro isd in texas, and gadsden, in new mexico … it comes a little late. “yeah, my kids are already in school.” “no, i already did all my shopping.” that’s because the tax-free weekend comes a week after gadsden students went back to school. two weeks, in socorro’s case. and while it’s possible to plan around the delay, it can be frustrating for families and teachers alike “it’s pretty frustrating because the teachers will keep telling my daughter “where are your school supplies? where are your school supplies?” but we tried to wait until the weekend to get all her stuff.” but the texas state comptroller’s office says the date is set by a formula coming from the state legislature… that was designed to include the vast majority of the more than 12 hundred school districts in texas. “the goal of the tax holiday is to try to give parents a chance to get those lists, understand their shopping needs, get a sense of their budget, and really prepare for the start of the school year.” while it may not seem like much to worry about – saving $8 or so per $100 spent… the texas comptroller of public accounts says the program has saved texans more than $87 million since it started in 1999. rick and estela? we have an update on a story from earlier in this newscast on the possible