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The 2007 hurricane season is quickly approaching and to encourage residents to prepare themselves for a storm, the state of Florida is eliminating the sales tax on items necessary to see homes, businesses and people through the days following a storm.

Signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist on April 30, Florida residents can take advantage of the tax holiday between June 1, the official start of hurricane season, and June 12. This will be the third year the holiday has been in place and Florida residents are expected to save about $25 million in sales taxes during the 12 day period.

“I urge all Floridians to take advantage of the Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday so that every person is prepared for the possibility of a storm,” said Crist in a press release. “We have learned from experience that prepared residents and communities are key to surviving and recovering from hurricanes or other natural disasters.”

To qualify for the tax exempt status, items must be within the price range specified by the state. To see which items are included in the holiday, visit

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/tips/pdf/tip07a01-04.pdf.

Renee Watters, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Revenue, said Tuesday that funds that would normally be generated by the sales tax on these items would come from a general fund and not causing harm to programs that rely on the money.

“I know that the sales tax holidays in general draw people to the stores who then buy other products that do require sales tax so it seems like a win-win situation for all,” she said.

According to Skip Diekhaus, manager of Sunshine Ace Hardware on Marco Island, the holiday is usually pretty popular with residents who are unwilling to relive their Hurricane Wilma experiences. People take advantage of the tax break to purchase basic hurricane preparedness items, such as flashlights, generators and drop cloths, he continued.

This week is also Hurricane Preparedness Week throughout the state, which is used to educate the public about the risks associated with hurricanes, how they are categorized and monitored and how to prepare for a storm.