Menstruating might still hurt your body, but now it hurts your wallet 6% less.
On Thursday, February 3, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill officially removing the 6% tax on menstrual products in Michigan. Before Thursday, menstrual products were taxed as a “luxury item.” A luxury item is a product that is considered non-essential and unnecessary.
“Everyone should be able to take care of their most basic healthcare needs without an unnecessary added financial burden,” Whitmer said in a press release on November 4, 2021.
The average woman spends about $6,360 on menstrual products in their reproductive lifetime in the U.S.
“By repealing the tax on menstrual products, we are saving families from paying taxes on up to $4,800 in spending over the course of a lifetime,” Whitmer said.
More than half of the states in the U.S. still have the tax in place, but Michigan is no longer one of them.
“After years of trying to repeal this tax, I am proud that we are bringing people together to put Michiganders first and drive down costs on these essential products,” Whitmer said.
