COLUMBUS – The Ohio House has approved a bill that exempts feminine hygiene products from state sales tax.
If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed by the Gov. John Kasich, Ohio would join 15 other states to eliminate so-called “tampon taxes” or “pink taxes.”
The language was included in a larger tax-related bill and came out of a separate bill introduced in February 2017 by Democratic Representatives Brigid Kelly of Cincinnati and Greta Johnson of Akron.
Taxing menstruation-control products presents economic issues for women, who pay $4 million a year in sales taxes from purchasing the medically necessary feminine hygiene products, according to a fiscal analysis from the Legislative Service Commission.
The added expense also creates potential health risks, Kelly said.
Without proper feminine hygiene products such as tampons and pads, women are at risk of developing health complications such as vaginal infections, disease and even infertility, she said.
Kelly pointed out the fact that, while the medicine prescribed to treat those problems is tax exempt, the products that can prevent them are not.