Tampons, pads, menstrual cups and diapers will be a few cents cheaper in New Orleans as of Oct. 1. The City Council voted unanimously Thursday to remove a burdensome, sexist “pink tax” on such products.
Lift Louisiana, an advocacy organization that works to undo policies that harm women, says this could collectively save women and families in New Orleans up to $1.5 million annually. It would particularly help those facing financial struggles amid surging unemployment rates and pandemic-related shutdowns.
Council Vice President Helena Moreno, who drafted the ordinance, said earlier this week that the tax is an unnecessary load only worsened by the pandemic. She also clarified that the 5% sales tax would not be completely eliminated from purchasing these products, but the city can reduce it to 2.5%. (The other 2.5% goes to the Regional Transit Authority and to New Orleans Public Schools.)
"This is the fair and right thing to do," Moreno said Thursday. "To tax these products is discriminatory. Every penny and every dollar counts for so many New Orleans families."
Eliminating part of the sales tax is not just a financial gesture but a symbolic one. Council President Jason Williams said taxing these items is a function of "systemic misogyny."
Advocates who have championed the tax removal say it’s unnecessary and unfair that women are asked to pay extra for having different biological functions than men. They also argue that menstrual products and diapers are necessities — not luxuries. Other necessities, such as groceries, prescription medications and utilities are exempt from sales tax.
Michelle Erenberg, executive director of Lift Louisiana, told Gambit that she is continuing to educate people about the financial impact, and that she and other elected officials will continue to work as they hope to get the tax exemption at the state level. Following the council's decision, she called it a "necessary step to eliminate a tax that devalued and penalized women."
Previous legislative efforts to remove the tax at the state level have failed. A year ago, then Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, authored a bill that would have eliminated the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers. But the predominantly conservative male legislature voted against it — despite their generous offerings of tax breaks to corporations and business leaders who don’t face the same vulnerabilities of Louisiana’s impoverished families and women.
But this year, newly elected Rep. Aimee Freeman, District 98, found a strategic way to put the power in the hands of city leaders.
With guidance from City Council and Lift Louisiana, she drafted legislation to allow municipalities to decide for themselves to remove the tax. It passed and was signed into law August 1.
Now, the council, Freeman and advocates hope that other municipalities will follow New Orleans' example, and their goal is to eventually get the sales tax removed at the state level. Twenty other U.S. states have so far voted to eliminate it.
“An individual person may not notice a couple dollars being shaved off at Walgreens to buy diapers and to get feminine hygiene products,” Erenberg said. “But it has a significant impact over time, and if we were to get this passed in New Orleans...[the money] goes into the pockets of those who need it most."
The Link LonkAugust 21, 2020 at 03:00AM
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City Council removes sexist 'pink tax' from menstrual products and diapers in New Orleans - NOLA.com
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