The question of tax exempt status for menstrual products is under scrutiny by Durango City Council after a debate on the subject unfolded earlier this week during a City Council meeting.

City councilors couldn’t reach a consensus about the possible menstrual products tax exemption, except that they needed more information.

Some councilors said City Council shouldn’t delay tax exemption for menstrual products just because other essential products aren’t yet included under the proposed exemption. Others said people who need financial help should receive it, but more discussion about what products qualify for tax exemption is necessary.

Mayor Kim Baxter said some people can’t easily afford the sales tax on menstrual products, which is something she wants to address. But she also doesn’t want to subsidize people who make six figures a year and can easily afford the products.

The city has a tax rebate program on some products, but adjusting that program to account for items such as tampons might complicate the process.

The city currently offers a food and utility tax rebate. For the food tax rebate, applicants must fill out a form confirming their residency, income level and valid identification.

The council agreed to readdress the question of tax exemption after more research and discussions with the Community Relations Commission and diversity, equity and inclusion consultants for the city.

Members of the Community Relations Commission had proposed the idea of offering free menstrual products at the Durango Community Recreation Center and other public access facilities last year, which is where the greater proposal of exempting the products from sales taxes originated.

Councilors discussed the merit of including other products such as diapers in an adjustment to tax exemptions and whether that is a stronger action than immediately removing sales taxes on menstrual products.

Baxter said countless products could fall into the category of “essential” depending on groups of people’s needs.

Councilor Jessika Buell was fairly straightforward: Sales taxes on menstrual products are an extra barrier to essential health care products to people in poverty, she said.

Councilor Barbara Noseworthy also supported the tax exemption. She said women are being taxed for a natural process beyond their control and that shouldn’t be the case.

Councilors are questioning whether making menstrual products tax exempt opens the door to making other health care products tax exempt. If so, they must specify what products fall into that category.

Durango resident Carla Erickson wrote a letter to City Council opposing the proposed tax exemption.

“Why are we providing free items in the first place?” Erickson asks in her letter. “People need to be responsible for their own hygiene needs. I can assure you these free items are being taken and used for situations that are not considered emergent.”

Erickson goes on to ask why taxpayers should foot the bill for a product when “people can afford to buy one item if needed from a machine when required.”

She said exempting feminine hygiene products from taxation is like opening a can of worms. If one group of people gets an exemption, others will ask for the same treatment. She told the council to “leave well enough alone” and that she is “totally against” menstrual product tax exemption.

Baxter said a significant part of the city population could be menstruating at any given time, but likewise, a “huge proportion” of the population has children. Both groups span all income levels, she said.

“Do we remove the sales tax on those (children’s) products also?” she said. “To the benefit of every income level and not specifically target the income levels that we’re really trying to take care of and support and enhance their quality of life, too, through our sales tax rebate program?”

Baxter said seniors also have significant issues and share the same diversity in income status. She asked if people with celiac disease should have access to tax-exempted gluten-free products.

Buell said menstrual tax exemptions are more common in other states than gluten-free exemptions.

In an email to City Council, former mayor Sweetie Marbury said she supports the tax exemption but doesn’t think it is as inclusive as it could be.

Noseworthy said she knows the tax exemption is a “first start” and that it doesn’t go far enough for some people, and perhaps it goes too far for others.

She said she doesn’t want the idea of a perfect list of tax exemptions to get in the way of what could be a good tax exemption for women.

Buell said the city has already acknowledged the need for more accessible menstrual products and is already supplying free products in its public-access facilities, such as the Durango Community Recreation Center.

“I feel like if we say we care about something and that this is an issue and we’re here to support it, then we need to support it,” Buell said. “And stand behind what we feel is right and what we can do to ensure the health and safety and dignity of women in our community.”

She said Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit that works with the United Nations, declared access to “clean, safe and affordable menstrual products” a human right.

Councilor Melissa Youssef said she spoke to her colleagues on the Colorado Municipal League board of directors, and their feedback was an emphatic “no” on tax exemption for menstrual products.

Youssef said other communities heavily rely on sales tax revenue for community programs, and such an exemption would not be supported without broader inclusion. Youssef also suggested revisiting the rebate program.

cburney@durangoherald.com