How much would women save if period products weren’t taxed in SC?

In a women’s lifetime, she will spend about $6,000 on menstrual products, and that doesn’t factor in inflation.

For many women and low income households, choosing between these products and other essentials, such as food or even healthcare, becomes a challenge. In South Carolina, there is a 6% sales tax on menstrual products, which adds to the burden of many other expenses a women occurs in her lifetime.

However, two bills in the state house look to eliminate the sales tax places on menstrual products.

H. 3563 aims to eliminate the sales tax on tampons, period pads, menstrual cups and other period related products. The proposal, which passed the House 114-0 in 2023, has drawn widespread support from both sides of the aisle.Supporters of the bill have made multiple arguments for the bill from necessity of period products to the disparity the tax causes, such as South Carolina not taxing Viagra, a men’s erectile dysfunction drug.

S. 149 also adds diapers to the list of items that are exempt from sales tax. The average parent spends about $936 in the first year of having their child on diapers.

So, how much would someone actually save if a sales tax was eliminated on feminine hygiene products? Per person, about $455 dollars in their lifetime, not accounting for inflation.

The state would give up about $5.9 million in annual revenue by nixing a so-called tampon tax, and it would keep about $1.4 million of local sales taxes out of municipal coffers.

South Carolina has more than 80 products that are exempt from sales tax in the state. The list includes prescription medicine, groceries, hearing aids, lottery tickets, wrapping paper, movies sold or rented to theaters and Viagra, among other items.

Period products are a necessity for ore than half the South Carolina population in their lifetime. The products are already exempt from taxes in 23 states and Washington, D.C. There are 21 states, including South Carolina, that tax feminine hygiene products, with the tax percentage ranging from 4-7%.

Trisha Mote, a junior at the University of South Carolina, spoke in favor of the bills Wednesday morning at a Senate subcommittee with senior her colleague Anusha Ghosh, a senior. The two formed an organization at USC called No Periods Left Behind, and spoke about the necessity to eliminate the tax for women in the state.

“It’s time to acknowledge that menstrual hygiene products are not luxury items, but essential necessities to the health and dignity of individuals,” Mote said. “This bill has the power to profoundly change the lives of countless individuals across the state.”

Mote said the organization spoke to people who had struggled with the lack of menstrual products due to financial constraint. This led students to wear products for hours, which can lead to health concerns such as infection.

State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, sponsor of the Senate bill, spoke briefly about the effect the bill could have. Women miss school and work due to lack of products, and the fact the state doesn’t tax things that aren’t “necessity” like wrapping paper, makes for all more the reason to ensure women aren’t paying for necessities on period products, she said.

“I think this is something that has long been missing,” Shealy said. “This is something that, you know, is a necessary thing.”