Diapers and tampons shake ‘nonessential item’ tax status in more states as prices rise

Diapers and period products like tampons are shaking their 'nonessential item' tax status in more states as lawmakers try to ease the hit from inflation.

As inflation hikes up the costs of period-care products and diapers, more states are rolling back sales tax on such items to ease pressure on consumers’ budgets.

Colorado enacted a law Wednesday exempting those goods from state sales tax starting next year, when a similar measure in Iowa will also take hold. Consumers in Louisiana won’t have to wait that long; the state scrapped its sales tax on diapers and menstruation sanitary products as of July 1. Period-care items are already exempt from state sales taxes in Florida, Maryland and New York, which each extended carve-outs to diapers in recent weeks. Florida did the same last month, albeit just for a year.

In the U.S., researchers estimate that nearly 17 million people who menstruate live in poverty and hundreds of thousands lack access to the necessary hygiene products and facilities. Yet 23 U.S. states tax period-care items as nonessential goods and 29 treat diapers much the same way, rather than as necessities like food or toilet paper, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. Consumer advocates have long railed against this arrangement as a “pink tax” on up to half the population — the half that disproportionately cares for children.

Inflation eases, but prices still up 8.5% compared to a year agoAug. 10, 202203:04“There’s an enormous gap between what U.S. [consumers] make and what they need to spend to support themselves and their families,” said Joanne Goldblum, CEO of the National Diaper Bank Network, a nonprofit partially funded by Kotex that helps distribute diapers to struggling caregivers.

Like many household goods, diapers and period products have soared in price as pandemic-related pressures rock supply chains and slow manufacturing. The average cost of diapers increased 13% in July from the same time a year ago, according to data from NielsenIQ, and average prices for menstrual-care products have increased by 10% over that same time span. But period-care goods and diapers aren’t covered by federal assistance programs and can face sales taxes of 4% to 8% around the country, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/states-cut-taxes-diapers-tampons-high-inflation-rcna42537

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