Here in South Carolina, most people are not a fan of taxes. And while the state exempts some items from its sales tax, one type of good in particular is gaining attention from legislators and advocates alike who now call for tax exemption.
The sale of feminine hygiene products such as tampons and sanitary napkins earns South Carolina approximately $3.8 million a year. Deemed by a great part of the population as highly essential items, the state has yet to recognize tampons and sanitary napkins as essential in terms of taxation code.
The sales tax placed on feminine hygiene products is often cited as a “tampon tax.” Advocates for organizations like Period Equity argue that tampons and sanitary napkins are essential products to those who menstruate and a sales tax on these items disproportionately affects one part of the population more than another.
Recognizing this inequity, Representative Krystle Matthews of District 117 has proposed a bill to end the tampon tax. H.4717, also known as the Female Health and Wellness Act, seeks to amend state code to provide that the sale of feminine hygiene products be exempt from state and local sales taxes.
Representative Matthews has made gender equality a cornerstone of her campaign and past two years in office, telling The Palmetto Insider just last month that “fighting for legislation that concerns women is a cause we must all take on.”
The Female Health and Wellness Act currently sits in waiting to be discussed on the House floor. For reference, there are only 27 women in the whole of the 170-seat South Carolina legislature.
If approved, the Female Health and Wellness Act would have South Carolina join the ranks of 18 other states that have either exempted feminine hygiene products from sales tax or do not have a sales tax at all.