NASHVILLE-The 2010 Sales Tax Holiday begins this Friday, and provides three full days of tax breaks on clothing, school and art supplies, and computer purchases.

Visitwww.tntaxholiday.com or our new dedicated facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/TNTaxHoliday for detailed information on the holiday.

The holiday begins Friday, Aug. 6 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, Aug. 8 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.

"Our Sales Tax Holiday not only helps families save on their back-to-school shopping but is a benefit for all Tennesseans, who are encouraged to take advantage of the timely savings," said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr.

An audio news release recorded by Commissioner Farr about the holiday is available at the Sales Tax Holiday Web site, www.tntaxholiday.com.

Please visit www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial (615) 253-0600.)

Examples of exempt items include:

• Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves

• School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors

• Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors

• Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.) iPad's are eligible for tax exemption, video games and consoles are not.

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 91 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the department collected $10.1 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of combined local sales tax, local mineral severance tax, and local business related taxes and fees was collected by the department for local governments during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.