Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday to lift the state sales and use tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products.
“We’ve been trying to get this done for a long time,” Whitmer said after signing the first of two bills in the package.
Whitmer noted she supported similar legislation when she served as a House and Senate lawmaker.
“This transcended many different legislatures and legislators,” she said. “But we are here today and I know it is going to make a difference for every menstruating Michigander.”
Whitmer said the burden of the 6% tax on feminine hygiene products falls most heavily on young women and low-income families, and the estimated $6 million reduction in state revenues is a pittance in comparison. She said for women, feminine hygiene products are a necessity.
“So, repealing this unfair, one-sided tax is the right thing to do,” she said. “Over the course of a lifetime, the average menstruating Michigander will use 17 thousand tampons. That’s 456 periods, costing 7 to 10 dollars a month.”
Michigan joins 20 other states that don’t have similar taxes.
The governor said women have no choice on whether to buy menstrual products, and the tax is a burden that falls most heavily on lower-income women.