LANSING, Mich. – Michigan will no longer apply the 6% sales tax to tampons and other menstrual products under bipartisan legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The change will take effect in early February.
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Supporters of the new law said feminine hygiene products are a necessity, not a luxury, and should be exempt from taxation like other medically necessary items.
“This is primarily for me, and for I think most of the people that have been supporting this change in law, about fairness, about ensuring that people who menstruate are not punished for that biological activity," the Democratic governor said after signing a bill at the Greater Lansing Food Bank. “It's long overdue. I'm thrilled to be signing this today."
About 15 states with sales taxes do not tax menstrual hygiene products.
The law will reduce state sales and use tax revenue by roughly $6.3 million a year, a sliver of $11 billion in annual sales and use tax collections. Similar bills had been introduced since 2016 but failed to gain traction.
Lysne Tait, executive director of Helping Women Period, an East Lansing-based nonprofit that supplies menstrual products to homeless and low-income women, said the law is a step in the right direction and called for additional work to help those who cannot afford the items.
“We are ecstatic about the elimination of this tax and fervently hope that it will allow clients to be more self-sufficient and purchase their own products,” she said.
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