Back-to-school tax holidays are a scam

  The arrival of the hot, heavy days of August means that, in many places, it’s time to think about back-to-school shopping. And thanks to the confluence of shrinking school budgets and the integration of more gadgets and gizmos into classrooms, the total that parents shell out to equip their kids is big and growing. The average household is expected to spend more than $500 this year on back-to-school supplies, an increase of several hundred dollars over the amount spent just a few years ago.

  In an attempt to give parents, particularly those with little disposable income, a break from those big numbers, many states turn to an old tax policy standby: sales tax holidays.