Legislation Introduced To Eliminate “Tampon Tax”

In Michigan, a 6% tax is included on the purchase of tampons and sanitary pads, however, one Grand Rapids woman is lobbying to end that. Bills to end the tax have been introduced before but have stalled out in the past. 

Bills in both the House and Senate were re-introduced in February. They are currently waiting to be heard at committee meetings which is the next step in the process. There is a pending lawsuit against the state that alleges collecting tax on menstrual products is "unlawful and invalid" citing the products are medical necessities which typically aren't taxed under state law.

For the past two years, Emily Biggs of Grand Rapids has been working on raising awareness about the issue and collecting donations for menstrual products through the non-profit I Support The Girls. If the bill passes, it could result in a settlement in the lawsuit, potentially saving the state millions of dollars in damages.

I Support The Girls says on their web-site,

"A woman shouldn’t have to choose between feeding herself and her personal health. Every woman should have the ability to maintain her dignity."

The "Tampon Tax" bill is being supported by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The Governor has introduced a provision that would end the Michigan sales tax on menstrual products in her budget in Fiscal Year 2022.

Democratic Senator Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids told Fox 17,

"I’m really quite determined to keep pursuing this. There's so many good reasons why this is good policy, and many of those reasons make a lot of sense to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle as well."