This weekend is the state’s annual “sales tax holiday,” during which the tax on some items is suspended. The details on what’s taxable and what’s not can be found here. If North Carolinians are deserving of a one-weekend annual “holiday,” then why does the new state budget (expected to receive final approval today), make the supposedly temporary sales tax increase permanent? The fact that the “holiday” exists is evidence the rate is too high in the first place. Rather than bestow a “gift” on taxpayers, legislators should lower the rate we pay every day of the year. That would allow consumers to keep more of their own money and eliminate the need for state workers to administer the “holiday” and save retailers the hassle and time of doing the same.