It’s nice to have a holiday in August.

Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday is this weekend.

In their collective wisdom, the Oklahoma Legislature passed Senate Bill 861 during the 2007 Legislative Session. Conservative lawmakers were tired of reports of Oklahoma shoppers driving to Dallas during the Texas sales tax holiday.

Everyone is a winner with this holiday.

Consumers – especially parents who with school-age children – can save more than 8 percent on clothes and shoes for school.

Retailers love it. The holiday produces crowds that are normally only around Thanksgiving and Christmas. The retailers don’t pay the taxes – buyers do – and so the stores can offer nice discounts and still make a bunch of cash.

County and municipal governments don’t mind too much. The state orders retailers do not collect any sales tax and then the state rebates taxes back to counties and cities.

And state agencies should have no gripes this year. The state is awash with taxes. There is close to a billion – that’s billion with a “b” – in the Rainy Day Fund and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s budget included $200 million in a special savings account.

There is a ripple effect in the economy when so many people are crowding into the malls to buy shirts, pants, socks and shoes. Saving $8 on a $100 purchase may not sound like a lot, but it is highly motivating to moms and dads who have families to feed.

Cutting taxes does spur the economy. Raising taxes decreases productivity. That’s basic economy.

And there is a vivid example of that in Oklahoma stores this weekend.