State's annual gift helps families.

It's time to start thinking about going back to school, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue once again will do its part to help parents bear the cost of the annual ritual. The state's annual sales tax-free holiday weekend is Aug. 5-7. The annual weekend was initiated in 2000, and has saved state families millions of dollars as they outfit their children or themselves for school (or whatever else they need to be outfitted for).

While some shoppers avoid stores during the annual weekend, for many the little boost from the state can be the difference that makes ends meet during an expensive time of year. All told, in the program's first five years shoppers have been spared from $13.7 million in sales taxes.