Senate Bill 935, authored by Senator Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, had passed both houses unanimously before it was signed into law by Governor Keating this past week. The Norman Republican says that the sales tax at estate sales was a nuisance tax on Oklahoma families that needed to be removed.
"It is hard enough to deal with the death of a parent or other loved one, but often the family must endure liquidating the estate of the deceased. But then having to sit down and figure out sales taxes on those belongings is just an additional burden the family doesn't need at a time like that," said Senator Nichols.
Senator Nichols says Senate Bill 935 will remove that burden. The legislation exempts sales of personal property as long as the estate sale is held at the home of the deceased. The sale must be conducted within six months of the person's death and cannot last more than three days. The exemption would not apply if the sale is conducted by an auctioneer or a person in the estate sale business.
"The passage of this legislation was a bipartisan effort," said Nichols. "The legislature was faced with some very difficult decisions regarding the budget this year, but I'm very pleased that the legislature approved this piece of legislation," commented Senator Nichols. "The bottom line is families should not have to deal with tax forms and complicated paper work while they are selling the personal belongings of their deceased loved one. Hopefully this legislation will make that process less complicated."
"I want to thank my fellow legislators and Governor Keating for approving this measure. It really was a bipartisan effort, and I think it is one that Oklahoma families will appreciate," said Senator Nichols.