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SALT LAKE CITY — An effort to exempt tampons and other hygiene products from state sales tax stalled Wednesday when a House committee opted to adjourn before voting on the bill.
Rep. Susan Duckworth, D-Magna, told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee that HB71 would not only reduce the burden on women purchasing feminine products and young families buying diapers, but lost revenue likely would be reinvested in the local economy.
"The few cents that we spend every week or every month that is used by these families is not put into a piggy bank for a vacation. They don’t save that money. They put it back into the economy," Duckworth said.
Members of Utah Women Unite spoke in support of the bill.
"For a class of people that makes less than men already, this is just an additional hardship for us to take on," said Leslie Durham, a representative of the women's rights advocacy group.
Related
2016: All-male legislative committee blocks bill to eliminate tax feminine hygiene products
A bill that would eliminate Utah's sales tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products was struck down by a House committee.Heather Williamson, of Americans for Prosperity, argued against the tax exemption, saying she favors an across-the-board tax rate reduction to help all Utahns without "picking winners and losers in the marketplace."
Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, said she opposed the bill because it would incentivize the use of disposable items.
"I have great concern for the situation in Utah that we have with some of our landfills," Lisonbee said. "I know that there are nondisposable diapers and that there are nondisposable feminine hygiene supplies."
The committee accepted Lisonbee's motion to adjourn the meeting before voting on whether to advance the bill to the full House for discussion.
Duckworth said she's not dropping the issue.
"I’m not going to pursue it this year, but I will bring it back next year," she said. "And I imagine it will have the same outcome. I may not be here that long, but I am going to pursue it again." Email: rmorgan@deseretnews.com
