COLUMBUS – A proposal repealing Ohio’s sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products has cleared the Ohio House.
State Rep. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) calls Thursday’s unanimous vote “a victory for all women in Ohio.”
The sales tax on tampons and other medically necessary feminine hygiene products, known as the “pink tax,” costs Ohio women an estimated $4 million a year, Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) said.
Kelly and Antani co-sponsored the legislation, which passed after their repeal language was folded into another bill that provides a tax credit to teachers who buy school supplies.
“Through the sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene period products included in this bill, we are making medically necessary products more accessible to women and girls in our state, ensuring they are better able to lead a healthful life, to regularly attend school, work or personal events, and to fully participate in their communities,” Kelly said.
Antani says that once the bill becomes law, women in Ohio will see savings as well as added fairness in the tax code, since tampons are taxed while other types of hygiene products aren’t.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it stalled in a previous session of the General Assembly but, if senators agree with the bill and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signs it, Ohio would join 15 other states where feminine hygiene products are exempt from sales taxes.