Tennessee Senate Bill SB0188

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/15/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, Chapter 6, relative to sales and use tax exemptions.

Summary

SB0188 amends Tennessee’s sales and use tax exemption law to add feminine hygiene products to the list of exempt items. The bill defines “feminine hygiene product” as a product used by women with respect to menstruation or other genital-tract secretions, and specifically includes tampons, pads, liners, cups, and douches. The measure is framed as a tax policy change within Title 67, Chapter 6 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. If enacted, the bill would make these products exempt from state sales tax beginning July 1, 2025. In practical terms, consumers purchasing qualifying items would no longer pay sales tax on them, and retailers would need to apply the exemption in their tax collection and reporting systems. The bill does not create a new program or agency; it modifies the tax treatment of a defined category of consumer goods.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 67-6-393, by adding feminine hygiene products to the state’s sales and use tax exemption list and by defining the term in statute. This would reduce taxable sales for the specified products and lower the cost to consumers purchasing them, while also affecting state and local tax revenues to the extent those products are currently taxed. Retailers selling these items would need to update point-of-sale and compliance practices to reflect the exemption.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears straightforward and policy-focused, with an emphasis on tax relief for essential personal care products. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the bill may have been treated as a relatively narrow tax exemption proposal.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is fiscal: exempting feminine hygiene products from sales tax would reduce state tax collections, which may raise concerns about revenue loss or precedent for additional exemptions. Another possible issue is scope and definition, since the bill specifies certain products and a statutory definition of “feminine hygiene product,” which could prompt questions about whether the list is complete or whether other related products should also qualify. No specific opposing or supporting viewpoints are documented in the provided materials.