COLUMBIA − In America, 21 states charge sales tax on feminine hygiene products, and 26 states charge sales tax on diapers.
With the taxes on each of these necessary products ranging from 4% to 7%, it can make it more difficult for low-income families to afford.
In Missouri, goods such as diapers, feminine hygiene products, and adult incontinence products are taxed as a luxury items.
Tammy Byington, a parent education coordinator at First Chance for Children, doesn’t believe these items are luxuries at all.
“I think all of them fall under the category of being medically necessary,” Byington said. “It’s a luxury tax on children, (and) it makes me feel marginalized as a woman.”
Gay Litteken, executive director of First Chance, says the Missouri Coalition of Diaper Banks has been advocating for exemption or reduction of the tax for years. After the start of a pilot project that gave away free feminine hygiene products, First Chance realized how large the need was.
“There was such a demand for feminine hygiene products that people don’t come (to the diaper bank) for diapers, they come here for just feminine hygiene products,” Litteken said. “Students miss school, people miss work, they don’t have what they need so they just can’t go anywhere.”
Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, is passionate about using her position to help improve health and education conditions for Missouri residents.
“If infants and toddlers are sitting in wet diapers, it exposes them to all sorts of skin infections, urinary tract infections, and that can cause real problems down the road,” Arthur said.
Parents who cannot afford diapers are not always able to send their children to child care. It can also impact the ability to go to school and learn for those who are experiencing menstruation and are without access to feminine hygiene products.
Legislation proposed in Missouri has attempted to lower the 4.225% tax down to 1.25%, taxing it as other necessary items like groceries, as well as eliminating the tax, as seen in Arthur’s sponsored bill.
“It’s not just your tax, it's a luxury tax on top of it. Then, it could be a local tax on top of that. If you’re in a certain store, it could be another tax on that, so it really does add up,” Litteken said. “We’re behind other states. We need to make an effort to push this through.”
Arthur said there seems to be a lot of bipartisan support and common agreement that “diapers and feminine hygiene products are not luxury items and shouldn’t be taxed as such.” This can be seen through both Republican and Democratic sponsors of the bill.
In the past three years, 11 states have made changes to taxes on feminine hygiene products and diapers.
Other priorities are stopping the passage of changes to way these items are taxed, according to Arthur.
“Republicans hold the supermajority in Missouri, and they just have not made this their top priority,” Arthur said. “I think one of the challenges is that a lot of our state and local budgets depend on the tax that’s collected from these items, and so we’ve heard from some municipalities that they’re worried about losing that tax as a source to fund services for their communities.”
Tax collected on diapers, feminine hygiene products, and adult incontinence products are put into the general revenue fund and are appropriated out.
According to the fiscal note provided with the last proposed legislation (Senate Bill 143), the Missouri Department of Revenue used Census data to estimate the total impact of a tax exemption on feminine hygiene products alone being between $89,202,965 and $210,826,336.
“In Missouri, I think there has to be a balance between cutting taxes and making sure the people really benefit from the taxes, as opposed to special interests and corporations, and this is something that benefits people directly,” Arthur said. “I think low-income families are really struggling, and this is one area where we can make a little change and it can make a big difference in their lives.”
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles, believes the entire tax burden is too high.
“Whether it’s on this bill or a variety of other things, the burden that's being placed on Missouri citizens is higher than it's ever been before,” Eigel said. “We’ve never sent more money to Jefferson City, even adjusted for inflation, and that's caused our state to stagnate.”
Eigel’s response to criticism that SB 143 and similar legislation would not be beneficial for everyone is that, “We all benefit from the cuts. In fact, if you look at the states that are growing much faster than Missouri is, they all have tax burdens that are far less than what Missouri citizens sustain.”
Arthur also argues that it strengthens communities when working families have more money in their pockets.
“In the legislature over the last several years, we’ve seen the Republican majority make tax cuts their priority,” Arthur said. “Unfortunately, most of those tax cuts have benefited the rich. We need to really look at who’s impacted by the tax cuts that are being approved by the legislature, and this one helps low-income and working families. Those are the people who need it the most right now.”
Eigel's solution would be to "cut spending.”
“When you’re so focused, as the politicians are in Jefferson City, on growing government and spending more money, it's hard to make any tax cuts,” Eigel said. “We’ve got too many politicians that want to waste taxpayer money. Until we have a leader in this state, and leadership coming from the governor's office, about how we are going to be fiscal conservatives and better stewards of the people’s money, then it's hard to imagine that things are going to change.”
Litteken says this is a matter of equality.
“Most of the people that use feminine hygiene products are women, and we’re taxing these products as a luxury item,” she said.
Byington added that if the state really wants to support children and women, they need to “realize that having children and being a woman is not a luxury.”
Arthur has pre-filed a bill (SB 842) for the 2024 session, which would authorize a sales tax exemption for the purchase of diapers. Sen. Barbara Washington also pre-filed a bill that would provide a sales tax exemption for the purchase of feminine hygiene products.
For those who think they may not have a part in this fight, Arthur believes they do.
“Everyone can reach out to their representative and senator letting them know it's something you want to see approved,” Arthur said. “When we have hearings on bills, you can write a testimony of support online or in person.”
Arthur also believes that more attention brought to the issue outside of the Capitol would make it easier for the General Assembly to pass the bill.
