Georgia Offering Sales Tax Incentive on Water-Saving Products
Peachtree Corners homeowners can purchase WaterSense-labeled products including toilets, showerheads and faucets tax-free from midnight Oct. 5 through Oct. 7.
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If you're looking to buy WaterSense products to help save water, the weekend of Oct. 5 - 7 might be a good time to do so. Georgia is offering a sales tax exemption during that period for any WaterSense-labeled products.
According to a press release, products that have earned the WaterSense label, including toilets, showerheads faucets, irrigation controllers and other products that carry the label, use at least 20 percent less water, and perform as well as, or better, than conventional models. This certification is given by independent third parties to verify that WaterSense products meet EPA criteria for water efficiency.
“Some people think a new showerhead won’t make a difference, but it does,” said Dallas Mayor Boyd Austin, chair of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. “Every drop of water counts in metro Atlanta, and we can all do our part.”
Replacing a standard showerhead with a WaterSense-labeled one is reported to be able to save thousands of gallons of water a year. Replacing an old toilet with a water-efficient one reportedly will save more than two gallons a flush.
Besides saving money on the sales tax, residents who purchase a WaterSense-labeled toilet may also qualify for a rebate. Details about rebates, either directly or through the Metro Water District are available at www.northgeorgiawater.org/toiletrebate.
The sales tax holiday on WaterSense labeled products starts at midnight on Friday, Oct. 5 and continues until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7. WaterSense-labeled products with a sales price of $1,500 or less purchased for noncommercial home or personal use during the sales tax holiday will be Georgia state and local sales tax-free.
WaterSense is a partnership program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes and services. To search for WaterSense-labeled products, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/product_search.html.
Visit www.mydropcounts.org for other strategies for reducing water use.
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Neil Niekerk
12:26 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The EPA has some wonderful ideas. They also seem to have some crackpot ideas, too.
The City of San Francisco, is/was an early adopter of the EPA's WaterSense toilets. The City financed the installation of about 16,000 of these devices. They don't have sufficient flow of water through the sewer system to flush the waste. There are approximately 300,000 residences in San Francisco. Now, (no pun intended) there is a stink in San Francisco.
Saving water is a great idea. Ruining one's home isn't.
By trade I'm a writer of cookbooks and food articles for magazines. I say this as I don't own stock in a business related to water, plumbing fixtures, construction, architecture ... I'm trying to say I don't have a financial interest in what I write about at:
http://high-efficiency-toilet.blogspot.com/
There I have tried to chronicle the development of how these low water use toilets came into existence and the consequences of violating the laws of physics, because politicians think that's a wise idea.