Bill Text: NJ A1563 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Exempts from "Sales and Use Tax Act" certain retail sales of computers and school supplies; allows $500 gross income tax deduction to teachers purchasing school supplies for classroom use.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A1563 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1563-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VICTORIA A. FLYNN
District 13 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Auth and Scharfenberger
SYNOPSIS
Exempts from "Sales and Use Tax Act" certain sales of computers and school supplies; provides $500 gross income tax deduction to teachers purchasing school supplies for classroom use.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act providing certain State tax benefits for certain taxpayers for purchases of certain retail sales of school supplies, amending P.L.2022, c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21 et seq.), supplementing Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes, and repealing section 2 of P.L.2022, c.21.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2022, c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21a) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. Receipts from retail sales of the following products are exempt from the tax imposed under the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) if the products are sold to an individual purchaser for non-business use [during the exemption period]:
(1) computers with a sales price of less than $3,000 per item;
(2) school computer supplies with a sales price of less than $1,000 per item;
(3) school supplies;
(4) school art supplies; and
(5) school instructional materials[; and
(6) sport or recreational equipment].
b. As used in this section:
["Annual exclusion period" means the period of time between 12:01 a.m. on the ninth day preceding the first Monday in September of each year and 11:59 p.m. on the first Monday in September of each year;]
"Computers" means electronic devices that accept information in digital or similar form and manipulate it for a result based on a sequence of instructions;
"Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities;
"School art supplies" means items commonly used by a student in a course of study for artwork, and shall include: clay and glazes; paints, including acrylic, tempera, and oil; paintbrushes used for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors;
"School computer supplies" means items commonly used by a student in a course of study in which a computer is used, and shall include: computer storage media, diskettes, and compact disks; handheld electronic schedulers, except devices that are cellular phones; personal digital assistants, except devices that are cellular phones; computer printers; and printer supplies for computers, printer paper, and printer ink;
"School instructional materials" means written materials commonly used by a student in a course of study as a reference and to learn the subject being taught, and shall include: reference books; reference maps and globes; textbooks; and workbooks;
"School supplies" means items commonly used by a student in a course of study, and shall include: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders, including expandable folders, pocket folders, plastic folders, and manila folders; glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper, including loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets; and
["Sport or recreational equipment" means items designed for human use and worn in conjunction with an athletic or recreational activity that are not suitable for general use, and shall include, but not be limited to: ballet and tap shoes; cleated or spiked athletic shoes; gloves, including baseball gloves, bowling gloves, boxing gloves, hockey gloves, and golf gloves; goggles; hand and elbow guards; life preservers and vests; mouth guards; roller and ice skates; shin guards; shoulder pads; ski boots; waders; and wetsuits and fins.]
(cf: P.L.2022, c.21, s.1)
2. a. A taxpayer who is an eligible educator shall be allowed a deduction, not to exceed $500, from the taxpayer's gross income for unreimbursed expenses incurred by the taxpayer for the purchase of classroom supplies during the taxable year.
b. As used in this section:
"Classroom supplies" means books, pencils, and other drawing supplies, computers and related equipment, laboratory equipment, and any other equipment and supplementary materials needed for day-to-day classroom activities.
"Eligible educator" means an individual who is employed as a teacher in a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school in this State.
3. Section 2 of P.L.2022, c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21b) is repealed.
4. Section 1 of this act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to receipts received from all sales made on or after the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment. Section 2 of this act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years commencing on or after January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes two new tax benefits for consumers and educators who purchase school supplies.
Sales and Use Tax Exemption. The bill exempts the retail sale of the following products from the sales and use tax if they are sold to an individual purchaser for non-business use: (1) school supplies, such as pens and pencils, notebooks, and binders; (2) school art supplies, such as paints and paintbrushes, clay, and glazers; (3) school instructional materials, such as maps, globes, reference books, and workbooks; (4) computers with a sales price of less than $3,000 per item; and (5) school computer supplies, such as computer storage equipment, printers, and personal digital assistants, with a sales price of less than $1,000. Under current law, retail sales of these products are exempt from sales tax only during the annual "back-to-school" sales tax holiday that begins in late August and ends on Labor Day.
Certain retail sales of sport or recreational equipment is also exempt from sales and use tax during the "back-to-school" sales tax holiday. Purchases of these items are not include in the list of goods that would be exempt from sales tax under the bill. All retail sales of items would be subject to sales and use tax. Retail sales of computers with a sales price greater than or equal to $1,000 remain subject to tax.
The bill provides that the sales tax exemption takes effect immediately but applies to receipts received from all sales made on or after the first day of the fourth month next following enactment.
Deduction from Gross Income. The also allows a gross income tax deduction, not to exceed $500 of unreimbursed expenses incurred by eligible educators for the purchase of classroom supplies.
Under the bill, an "eligible educator" is a teacher who is employed in a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school in the State. The bill defines "classroom supplies" as books, pencils, and other drawing supplies, computers and related equipment, laboratory equipment, and any other equipment and supplementary materials needed for day-to-day classroom activities.
This portion of the bill takes effect immediately, but applies to taxable years commencing on or after the January 1 next following the date of enactment.
