LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan House advanced legislation Thursday that would eliminate sales taxes on menstrual products, bringing the state one step closer to abolishing the so-called “tampon tax.”
The legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, would eliminate the 6% sales tax on menstrual products as “luxury items.” The proposal passed with bipartisan support 94-13.
Similar bills to end the tax have been introduced during each legislative session in Michigan since 2016, but have not made it to a floor vote in either chamber.
Whitmer, a Democrat, initially proposed lifting the tax in her proposal for the 2022 budget with a provision that the tax revenue lost would not be pulled from the School Aid Fund. The House Fiscal Agency estimates that Michigan would lose out on $7 million in tax revenue each year, but maintains that funding will not be taken from schools.
Harbor Springs Republican Rep. John Damoose, who voted Thursday to approve the measure, said he was struck by a conversation with a friend in which the tampon tax was identified as a “liberal” issue. He testified that there should be no reason that “just because the other side wants something, the other should say no.”
