Texas officials, Governor Greg Abbott say they support eliminating sales tax on tampons

Two top Texas finance officials say they want to eliminate state and local sales tax on tampons and other menstrual products — a measure that has the support of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican who chairs the senate Finance Committee, on Thursday said they support repealing the tax, which would require new legislation when lawmakers convene starting in January 2023.

“Every woman knows that these products are not optional,” Huffman said. “They are essential to our health and well-being and should be tax exempt.”

Huffman said she’d make the issue a priority as head of the Senate Finance Committee. Hegar called taxing products like tampons “archaic” and said Texas should to join the growing number of states that already exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from sales tax.

Legislation would have to pass in the House and Senate before heading Abbott for approval.

Eliminating the tax has the support of Abbott, spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement.

“Governor Abbott fully supports exempting feminine hygiene products from state and local sales tax,” Eze said. “These are essential products for women’s health and quality of life, and the Governor looks forward to working with the legislature in the next session to remove this tax burden on Texas women.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversees the Texas Senate, also supports an exemption, he said in a Friday statement. The Star-Telegram has also reached out to a spokesperson for House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, for comment.

“When I appointed Sen. Huffman as the new Senate Finance Chair last spring, I told her she had my total support and trust,” Patrick said. “We work as a team. I totally support her on this common-sense tax exemption for women.”

The comptroller’s office estimates taxes from the products would generate roughly $28.6 million annually during the next biennium. The office expects the current biennium to end with $27 billion in revenue.

“Texas can absorb this lost revenue easily, but for countless Texas women, this will mean significant savings in their personal budgets over time,” Hegar said. “This is a small amount of money relative to the overall revenue outlook for Texas.”

There have been past efforts to eliminate taxes on menstrual products. Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat, has filed a bill to exempt the supplies from sales taxes every session since 2017 but the legislation did not gain traction. Other similar bills have also failed.

“I already have legislation ready to go and intend to file this bill when filing begins in November,” Howard, who chairs the House’s Texas Women’s Health Caucus, said in a Thursday statement. “I look forward to working with Chairwoman Huffman to get this bill to the Governor’s desk next session.”

The announcement from Huffman and Hegar comes after the comptroller’s office in February denied to reimburse Sahar Punjwani of the Texas Menstrual Equity Coalition, working with a Houston law firm, for sales tax paid on menstrual products, The Texas Tribune reported. They maintained the menstrual products should be considered “wound care dressings” which are sales tax exempt. The group advocates to end the “tampon tax.”

Abbott, Hegar and Huffman are facing Democratic opponents in the November general election. Janet Dudding, who is running for comptroller as a Democrat, has previously called on social media for the end of the tax. She wrote on Twitter on Thursday that it appeared Hegar “saw my posts” and the work of Howard and others.

“Good,” the tweet reads. “Now do diapers & condoms.”

In an interview she added, “Donna Howard has been working on this since at least 2017 and it has not gotten anywhere. So we could have used their support earlier. Better late than never, but, you know, holy cow guys. Y’all could have stepped up when this first came up.”

A spokesperson for Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic nominee for governor, said O’Rourke is in favor of eliminating sales tax on menstrual products.

“It’s something that he supports and has supported and will continue to support,” said spokesperson Chris Evans, who noted the issue has been brought up at town halls.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.