California State Assemblywomen Democrat Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Republican Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) have offered a bill to exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from taxes.
Garcia argued, “Basically, we are being taxed for being women,” according to CBS Sacramento.
Garcia asserted that the taxes on the products exacerbate the pay inequity between men and women. She said that California women spend $20 million a year on feminine hygiene products. On her Facebook page, she wrote, “This is not insignificant to women, especially poor women on a tight budget who struggle to pay for basic necessities like a box of tampons or pads every month for their adult life. If we can’t make them free we should at least make them more affordable.”
The “tampon tax” bill, AB 1561, states, “This bill would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, sanitary napkins and tampons … Notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made by this act and the state shall not reimburse any local agency for any sales and use tax revenues lost by it under this act.”
If passed, the bill would be implemented “on the first day of the first calendar quarter commencing more than 90 days after the effective date of this act.”
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