{"id":1647,"date":"2020-04-13T09:16:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T17:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdc.wastateleg.org\/dhingra\/?p=1647"},"modified":"2020-09-17T00:09:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T00:09:58","slug":"taxless-time-of-month-governor-signs-bill-exempting-menstrual-hygiene-products-from-sales-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/dhingra\/2020\/04\/13\/taxless-time-of-month-governor-signs-bill-exempting-menstrual-hygiene-products-from-sales-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Taxless time of month: Governor signs bill exempting menstrual hygiene products from sales tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

From The Daily UW<\/a><\/p>\n

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Washington state\u2019s unemployment claims rivaling the number seen in the 2008\/2009 recession, every cent counts at the grocery store. Now, about half of the state population can rest a bit easier when it comes to their next round of errands.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about menstrual products \u2014 tampons, pads, cups, and similar items. Last Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed\u00a0SB 5147<\/a>, which will provide \u201ctax relief by exempting menstrual products from retail sales and use tax.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, effective July 1, will make Washington the 18th state to exempt menstrual products from retail taxes. The bill was unanimously passed by the State Senate on March 7. Three days later, the House of Representatives approved the bill in a 95\u20132 vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is great news for the women of Washington who now will get to keep the more than 3 million dollars they\u2019ve been paying in tax each year on medically necessary products,\u201d Sen. Lynda Wilson (R-Vancouver) said in a\u00a0press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wilson has worked on this bill for years, first introducing the idea in 2016 when she served in the House and then in the Senate the next year. The main drive for this bill was to combat the discriminatory assumption that menstrual products are not essential. To put this in perspective, male-marketed products like Viagra are not taxed.<\/p>\n

The inclusion of menstrual products in the retail tax also puts those who are financially compromised at risk. With 14.3% of Washingtonians ages 0\u201317 and 10.6% of Washingtonians ages 18\u201364 living below the poverty line, those who menstruate are put under further hardship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there\u2019s a surplus of 1.5 billion dollars, it\u2019s hard for anyone to justify continuing a tax as discriminatory as this,\u201d Wilson said in the press release. \u201cIt\u2019s especially unfair to women who are low-income or experiencing homelessness, and all the work on this bill has been worth it for their sake alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Wilson pushed the bill through the Senate, much of the driving force behind the movement came from the Washington Tampon Tax Task Force, which is part of the menstrual rights advocacy group\u00a0PERIOD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s symbolic,\u201d task force member Reem Sabha said. \u201cWhen you’re taxing something that is essential for … half the population, it sends a message that that bodily function is \u2026 something to be ashamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n

In between classes this year, Sabha, a graduate student at the UW, along with undergrad Dena Sabha and Kamiak high school students Jinyang Zhang and Ramya Arumilli, called and emailed senators, wrote letters, and sent out petitions.<\/p>\n

A key part of the bill\u2019s success was adapting to the preferences of different senators. In 2019, the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee supported SB 5147, but the Ways & Means Committee opposed it until state revenue projections increased.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a lot of support from both parties,\u201d Sabha said. \u201cWith more Republican legislators, if we framed it as a tax repeal, making the tax code less regressive, it was a very compelling argument for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the exemption of menstrual products from sales tax is a major step toward gender equity in Washington state, the Tampon Tax Task Force is already working on its next plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we’re all really excited on the passing [of the bill],\u201d Zhang said. \u201cBut now that that excitement has faded and we’re moving into the next legislative session, we’re planning on working on the bill SB 6073.\u201d<\/p>\n

This bill<\/a>\u00a0aims to provide free menstrual products in public school bathrooms. Although it gained traction in the Senate, it has yet to pass in the House. Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) will introduce the bill in the next session.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Tampon Tax Task Force continues to raise awareness for menstrual equity through a\u00a0petition<\/a>, urging senators to pass both bills by 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still 30 other states that still tax menstrual products,\u201d Sabha said. \u201cSo we’re hoping that Washington repealing [the tax] will provide more of an impetus for other states to repeal it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Nicole Pasia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From The Daily UW Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Washington state\u2019s unemployment claims rivaling the number seen in the 2008\/2009 recession, every cent counts at the grocery store. Now, about half of the state population can rest a bit easier when it comes to their next round of errands. We\u2019re talking about menstrual products \u2014 tampons, pads, cups, and similar items. Last Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed\u00a0SB 5147, which will provide \u201ctax relief by exempting menstrual products from retail sales and use tax.\u201d The bill, effective July 1, will make Washington the 18th state to exempt menstrual products from retail…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTaxless time of month: Governor signs bill exempting menstrual hygiene products from sales tax - Sen. 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We\u2019re talking about menstrual products \u2014 tampons, pads, cups, and similar items. Last Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed\u00a0SB 5147, which will provide \u201ctax relief by exempting menstrual products from retail sales and use tax.\u201d The bill, effective July 1, will make Washington the 18th state to exempt menstrual products from retail...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/dhingra\/2020\/04\/13\/taxless-time-of-month-governor-signs-bill-exempting-menstrual-hygiene-products-from-sales-tax\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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