At the grocery store, your bill won’t include a tax on milk, bread, apples, or eggs, but you will be taxed on things that are just as necessary, like diapers, baby wipes, and tampons.
In October, we reported about the steps Dallas was taking to improve access to menstrual products for people who can’t afford them. It’s a multipronged approach that includes placing those products in libraries and recreation centers. The city is also lobbying the state to eliminate the sales tax on those items so they become more affordable to purchase.
Councilwoman Paula Blackmon advocated for the removal of the tax in the last legislative session, which failed, and said last year that she would advocate for it again.
“I think every year at the state legislature there’s this push to remove taxes from these products because it’s basically a gender tax,” Blackmon said. “This is something that is a natural part of life, and we’re being taxed on it.”
This session, however, it looks like there is real momentum to make products that are as necessary as food—things like menstrual products, diapers, wipes, and home health items—exempt from sales tax.
On Thursday, Speaker Dade Phelan announced that the first slate of legislative priorities for the Texas House would include Democratic state Rep. Donna Howard’s bill to eliminate sales tax on several items, including menstrual products and diapers. The other bills on his list of priorities include a data privacy bill, a bill to extend Medicaid eligibility to new mothers for a year of postpartum coverage, and helping parents address online safety for children.
House Bill 300 outlines several items that, if the bill passes, would be tax-exempt—everything from menstrual products, breast pumps and supplies, diapers, bottles, wipes, several home health items, corrective lenses, and other aids for people with visual or hearing impairments.
But in addition to getting a boost from Phelan, earlier in the week, Frisco Republican Jared Patterson also agreed to talk with Howard about a separate bill—HB199—that addresses the tax on adult and child diapers specifically.
“Diapers should be tax-free. Who has the bill? I’m on board,” he said on Twitter. “I have HB199 and would welcome you as a joint author,” Howard responded. “Catch me tomorrow on the floor!” he said.
The odds seem good that Howard’s quest to remove sales taxes from necessary items. State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) filed Senate Bill 379, which would also remove the tax from some wound care items and menstrual products. Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar also indicated that they would support removing the tax.
“Every woman knows that these products are not optional,” Huffman said last year. “They are essential to our health and well-being and should be tax exempt.” Hegar said that the state could “absorb this lost revenue easily.”
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