Many states are implementing a tax holiday in the coming weeks, hoping to boost retail sales and let struggling families get more for their money in a down economy. 

Illinois began on Friday waiving its 5 percent state sales tax for ten days on certain purchases, including school backpacks, pens, notebooks, and most clothing items under $100.

The Land of Lincoln joins 18 other states, ranging from Florida to New Mexico, Maryland to Virginia, in offering a tax break this year — the highest number since New York first launched a tax holiday in 1997. Most of them begin this weekend and are pegged to school shopping.

North Carolina's back-to-school tax holiday this weekend is the nation's most generous. The state's 5.75 percent sales tax is waived not only on clothing and school supplies under $100 per item, but also on computers under $3,500, computer equipment under $250, and instructional materials under $300.

(READ the full article in the CS Monitor)