Dallas County Commission and Selma City Council have yet to vote on whether or not to participate in Alabama’s second annual Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. The tax holiday will be held Friday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 24.

The purpose of this tax holiday is to give Alabamians the opportunity to stock up on a variety of supplies for protecting their homes or businesses during Alabama’s tornado and hurricane seasons.

A provision in the Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday law allows counties and municipalities to join the state by removing their own local sales and use taxes from the same items during the same weekend.

Items covered under the Severe Weather Preparedness holiday range from batteries, cell phone chargers, weather radios, duct tape, lanterns, flashlights, plastic drop cloths and flexible waterproof sheeting, to bungee cords and rope, plywood, window film, non-electric food storage coolers or water storage containers, ice packs, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and more.

To allow retailers sufficient time to prepare for the upcoming sales tax holiday in February, local governments should notify the ADOR by Jan. 22, of their decision regarding their participation.  The ADOR will use this information to compile a listing of all cities and counties participating in the 2013 Severe Weather Preparedness Tax Holiday.  The city and county listing will be available at http://www.revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/WPSalesTaxHol.htm and provide guidance to both retailers and consumers.

For more information about Alabama’s annual Sales Tax Holiday for Severe Weather Preparedness, visit ADOR’s Website at www.revenue.alabama.gov.