Wendy Haney and Cody Sullens already know what they are going to buy during next weekend's sales tax holiday - a Dell desktop computer.

The couple will purchase their new computer at Wal-Mart, where they are employees. They are looking forward to saving even more money with their 10 percent employee discount.

Haney and Sullens will join the ranks of other Tennesseans who will head shopping during the state's tax-free holiday that begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

The holiday will lift Rutherford County's 9.75 percent sales tax from clothing priced at $100 or less, school and art supplies priced at $100 or less and computers $1,500 or less.

Each of the two tax-free holidays last year saved taxpayers between $8 million to $10 million, said Glen Page, deputy commissioner for the state Department of Revenue.

"(It) helps people who can't afford to by a lot of things," Page said. And it "puts money back into the hands of the taxpayer."

He hopes income tax returns and rebates will motivate consumers to spend more during the holiday, but he's not sure if it will.

Jimmy Yang, owner of Computer Room in Smyrna, thinks consumers having extra money from the federal government might spur them to shop, but with a "bad economy," he's not too sure that consumers will have extra funds to spend even with a tax-free holiday.

Yang's business sells used computers ranging from $49 to $200.

"I don't think we will sell much on the tax holiday," he said.

But other business owners say they will see an increase in sales next weekend.

Mary Esther Reed, owner of The Learning Circle next to Hastings on Memorial Boulevard in Murfreesboro, said she sees an increase in business during the sales tax holidays.

She said the holiday gives parents an incentive to go ahead and purchase their child's school supplies.

"The sales tax holiday is a perfect opportunity for parents to come in and purchase products to finish up the school year or maybe get started on purchasing for the next school year for their children," said Reed, who is also a member of the Smyrna Town Council.

Page added schools are encouraged to release their fall school supplies list early so that parents can shop for the items this weekend.

There will also be a sales tax holiday Aug. 1-3.

The upcoming holiday was originally set for March 21-23 during Easter weekend, but the General Assembly changed the dates.

The date was changed because many stores are closed on Easter weekend so consumers wouldn't have gotten three full days of the sales tax holiday.

This year's tax-free spree got attached to Easter weekend as an amendment to a hotly debated tax bill at the Legislature last June. Some legislators said they didn't realize Easter was so early this year.

Page said one unique distinction about Tennessee's program, which started August 2006, is that the state government reimburses local governments the money they would have gotten, pumping money back into the local economy.

"It's definitely a win-win situation for the consumer and the business," Reed said.