Louisiana tax break for diapers, tampons shelved by senators

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Efforts to remove Louisiana’s state sales tax from diapers and feminine hygiene products have stalled in the Senate.

Sen. J.P. Morrell, a New Orleans Democrat, proposed to strip the sales tax from those products in January 2019, if voters agreed to a constitutional amendment exempting the items.

Morrell said the state shouldn’t tax diapers, tampons, sanitary napkins and other feminine hygiene products that are necessities.

But the tax break’s price tag - in a state grappling with repeated budget gaps - prompted resistance to the idea. The tax exemption would have cost $13 million annually.

Only three members of the Senate Finance Committee supported the bill Thursday evening, while six senators opposed it. The vote stalls the proposal in committee.

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Senate Bill 24: www.legis.la.gov