The Michigan House of Representatives passed a pair of bills Thursday that would get rid of use and sales taxes on feminine hygiene products.
It’s the latest in a years-long effort to make those items tax free.
A House Fiscal Agency analysis of the bills notes the state currently collects a six-percent sales tax on those goods as “luxury items.”
State Representative Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods) is a bill sponsor.
She said she feels like the effort gained traction this year because the governor announced it as a priority going into the budget process.
“And I don’t know if it’s because we now have a female governor who understands it or if it’s because it was just the right timing in terms of what the budget looked like,” Yancey said.
State Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Oakfield Township) was among the bills’ main sponsors.
“To my knowledge, we have yet to cut taxes directly for individuals since January of 2019. But today—today we have an opportunity to directly cut taxes for families and individuals,” he said.
This past summer, a lawsuit failed to overturn Michigan’s so-called “tampon tax” as a violation of state and federal equal protection guarantees.
If the bills succeed, Michigan would join more than a dozen other states to add a feminine hygiene product exemption to its tax code.
