Nevada Could Exempt Feminine Hygiene Products From Taxes
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What the Initiative Does
Nevada Question 2 would exempt feminine hygiene products from state and local sales taxes. “Feminine hygiene products” would be defined as sanitary napkins and tampons.
In Favor
Feminine hygiene products are a medical necessity for women, which makes them medical devices which shouldn’t be taxed. The tax on pads and tampons increases the cost of living for Nevada’s working women, and its elimination is a step towards ending the overall “pink tax.”
Opposed
Exemptions to sales taxes decrease their productivity, forcing states to raise the overall tax rate on other products to make up for lost revenue. It’s better fiscal policy to have a sales tax on all final customer purchases, without exceptions.
In-Depth
As of October 21, 2018, there were no ballot measure committees registered in either support of or opposition to this measure. However, various organizations in the state have expressed their positions on this measure.
Our Revolution, multiple Democratic members of the state legislature, and Planned Parenthood support this measure. Eliza Cafferata, who works with Planned Parenthood Government Relations, points out that “the Centers for Disease Control considers [pads and tampons] a medical device and they are a necessity and so they shouldn't be taxed under that framework.” The Nevada State AFL-CIO supports Question 2 as a way to “reduce costs and increase access to necessary products for Nevada’s working women.”
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, author of Periods Gone Public, argues that managing menstruation is “a critical aspect of the lives and civic participation of more than half the population.” Weiss-Wolf argues that levying taxes on pads and tampons is a version of the “pink tax,” wherein women pay a premium for various products.
The Tax Foundation, which opposes exempting feminine hygiene products from sales tax, argues that exemptions decrease sales taxes’ productivity, and cause states to raise the sales tax rate to make up for lost revenue:
“Exempting feminine hygiene products has been a popular tax policy discussion in recent years, with supporters of “tampon tax” repeal efforts arguing that women are discriminated against when buying these necessity items. But the argument stretches the imagination. First, no state subjects tampons to a special or unique tax. Feminine hygiene products are subject to Nevada’s sales tax, similar to many other items. Additionally, while these exemptions are well-intentioned, they reduce the productivity of the sales tax. As exemptions creep up, the sales tax rate must be higher to generate the same amount of revenue. That means other items are now more expensive to offset the exemption… Ideally, sales taxes should tax all final consumer purchases, without regard to whether items are classified as necessities or luxuries. Moves to exempt items, such as feminine hygiene products, violate the principles of sound sales tax policy.”
It’s estimated that passage of Question 2 would cost the state roughly $5-7 million in tax revenue. Roughly 860,000 women and girls in Nevada use feminine hygiene products, spending $7-10 a month on those products.
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / ShotShare)
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