Tampon Tax Cut Plan A Hit At Walgreens

“I’m feminine! I practice hygiene! I’m all for that!”

United Airlines flight attendant Krystyna Suska had that reaction when told about a New Haven legislator’s plan to give her a break on tampons and sanitary pads from the legislature’s 6.35 percent sales tax.

The legislator, State Rep. Juan Candelaria of the Hill, has introduced a bill exempting the products from the tax. The bill has been referred to the legislature’s Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.

Whether or not the bill gets a hearing in Hartford, it won unanimous approval from a random group of female shoppers interviewed the other day at the Walgreen’s at York Street and MLK Boulevard.

“We are the reproductive machine, for goodness sakes,” Suska said. ​“We need to keep it healthy.”

Delisa Tolson, owner of a child care center in New Haven, said that although she no longer uses these products, she supports the proposal because it will help her daughter, a 28-year-old teacher, save money. “[Feminine hygiene products] are absolutely essential for everyday living and life,” she said. Tolson also believes that products that encourage safe sex, such as condoms, should also be tax exempt.

“I would support making essential products more affordable,” said Maura Harrigan, a registered dietician working at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Harrigan said she agrees with measures like this one that support women’s health.

“I think [the proposal] is great — it’ll save money. Every woman needs feminine products, and in these days, money is tight,” children’s books illustrator Nicole Radziwon said.

One shopper, who declined to be identified, pointed out that a woman’s hygiene practice is different than that of a man. ​“Maybe we can raise the taxes on something for men instead,” she said. ​“If we can’t break the glass ceiling, maybe we can get around it instead.”

“I think [the current tax] sucks,” said social worker Tashaya Gray. ​“We have to buy pads; we don’t have a choice!”

Fiancée Weighs In

Rep. Candelaria said he became interested in the idea when President Obama came out in January against sales taxes on feminine care items like pads and tampons. Then his fiancée and women in his family convinced him that it os a problem.

“They were like ​‘Yeah, we pay a tax, and it’s not fair,’” he said.

“This is really bias,” he said of the sales tax paid on the items which some women purchase on a monthly basis starting in their pre-teen years into their early 50s.

“It’s a gender injustice to tax what I consider to be a necessity,” Candelaria said. ​“It’s not a choice for women to stop their menstrual cycle. It just happens and we’re penalizing them by imposing a tax.”

He pointed out that the state already exempts other necessities such as food and even adult incontinence products, which are sometimes found in the same aisle as pads and tampons.

But he said given the state’s budget problems, he knows that getting his colleagues in the General Assembly, a mostly male body, to give up a steady and dedicated source of state revenue that could amount to millions will be a tough sale. He’s still waiting on the fiscal note for his legislation.

“Hopefully, it will be a good reception from women,” he said. ​“But the men, they have to understand that this is a need and not a choice.”

He said if for some reason the bill doesn’t get passed before the session is over in early May, he will bring it back next year.

“If this year we do not pass the legislation it will start the discussion — a serious discussion,” he said. ​“I think this is something that is getting a lot of momentum in our country, and Connecticut should be in the forefront on this issue as well.”

The tax on tampons and sanitary pads brings in about $3.6 million a year in Connecticut, which faces a nearly $570 million budget deficit, according to a report in CT News Junkie. The report added: ​“Five states — Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts — have created tax exemptions for tampons. Five other states have no sales taxes, which brings the total number of states where women can buy them without a tax up to 10. … There are bills to eliminate the tax on tampons and sanitary pads pending in California, Ohio, New York, Utah, Washington, Michigan, and Virginia.”