It's not an April Fool's joke. It's a state of Louisiana gift. It's a one cent addition to the state's sales tax and it officially takes effect Friday April 1.  The sales tax increase is part of plan by the state government to close the huge gap in the state's budget.

If you're planning on a major purchase you might want to get that handled by close of business today. LSU Professor of Marketing, Dr. Dan Rice suggested to the Louisiana Radio Network that those looking at big ticket items would see significant tax savings by purchasing today. To be honest, most people won't even notice the increase on the day to day things they buy.

We’re not talking about a huge tax increase and I think there has been a lot of news about it but I think that it’s something that if you just raised it and hadn’t had all the news, a lot of consumers may not even notice it quite frankly.

Dr. Rice believes that more people will notice the increase in taxes on cigarettes and alcohol than will acknowledge the increase in the state's sales tax. He suggested in his comments that the increase in sales tax will probably not affect people's spending habits.

Whether it’s better to buy it now before the one percent increase or wait for the next sale, which may be is a bigger decrease. It really just depends on your particular situation.

Regardless we will all be paying a penny more in taxes on the things we buy beginning Friday April 1.

 

 

 

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