Teen Works to Change How NC Taxes Feminine Hygiene Products

Sarina Horner, a 17-year-old senior at Forsyth Country Day School, sits for a portrait on her bed on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Lewisville, N.C. Horner has collected more than 17,000 signatures on a petition asking the N.C. General Assembly to change how it taxes feminine hygiene products. She started her effort after learning that some women and girls are unable to afford feminine hygiene products. (Allison Lee Isley/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

By SCOTT SEXTON, Winston-Salem Journal

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Many high-school kids — probably most, in fact — spend more time and energy worrying about their hair than state tax rates.

Sarina Horner, however, isn’t like most high-school seniors. Organized and persistent, this 17-year-old tends to take the long view when tackling big-picture problems rather than, say, sweating a lunch menu or a sweater choice.

That’s why, in between waiting for college acceptance letters, she spent a good chunk of time collecting more than 17,000 signatures on a petition to change the way the state taxes feminine hygiene products — North Carolina views them as “non-essential” or luxury goods”— and lobbying legislators to get on with it.

“I think (lawmakers) are definitely taking it seriously,” Horner said. “This movement is sweeping across the whole country. It’s such an easy thing to do.”

Taxing goods required by half the population as a “luxury” probably only makes sense to the half of the population who doesn’t need them or pretends they don’t exist.

(The state sales tax, in case you don’t read receipts, is 4.75% and can go up to 7.5% in cities with supplemental taxes.)

But as these things go in Raleigh, as in every other state capital, fiscal decisions are largely made by men. Older guys at that.

“People who menstruate know that menstrual hygiene products are not unnecessary,” Horner wrote in an introduction for her online petition. “Menstrual cycles are natural bodily functions, and products that help menstruators participate safely and comfortably in everyday life should not be treated like luxuries.”

North Carolina is far from alone in taxing these hygiene products the same as shampoo, soap or deodorant. Twenty-eight other knuckle-draggers do, too.

Academic studies have shown that as many as one in five women can’t afford menstrual hygiene products and that as many as 25% of teen-aged girls skipped school because they didn’t have access to such items.

Such statistics are making the rounds — and inroads — in some states. Since 2015, nine states have passed sales-tax exemptions for feminine hygiene products.

Learning that nugget made Horner realize that putting in the effort here might not be a complete waste of time during her senior year.

“I talked to a girl from Missouri who teamed up with an older man, a Republican I think, who helped her reclassify their tax,” she said. “It can be done.”

Indeed, legislators in both the state House and Senate introduced bills last fall that would create an exemption in the state sales tax for feminine hygiene products.

The honorables in both chambers shuffled the bills off to committee where they were largely ignored.

Still, there is another reason for optimism.

A third bill titled the “End Menstrual Poverty Act” that aimed to appropriate $250,000 for public-school systems to provide feminine products for free to students who struggle financially, managed to become law when it was incorporated into the 628-page state budget bill.

Learning about the issue — and the potential solutions — quickly caught (and held) Horner’s attention.

But instead of tweeting or posting a duck-face Instagram, she got busy trying to move the needle in North Carolina.

Horner put together a slideshow, began contacting lawmakers and following up with legislative aides who do the actual dirty work crafting bills in Raleigh. One of those aides suggested she start a petition at change.org, a task Horner already knew how to do.

Two years ago when she found out that the Winston-Salem Transit Authority only allowed riders to carry two bags onboard — ludicrous for seniors and others who depend on city buses to go to the grocery store — she lobbied locals to change that, too.

The original goal for the petition to end what some refer to as the “tampon tax” was modest: “2,500 to 5,000 is kind of the first benchmark of a petition,” Horner said. “I didn’t expect anywhere near 17,000.”

(To be precise, that’s 17,640 and counting as of Friday afternoon.)

Being an organized and persistent sort, Horner reached out to women’s equity groups on college campuses and law schools. Obviously that was the smart move.

Not that it comes as a shock, but Horner has figured out how to lobby lawmakers. Republicans who control the Legislature are all about cutting taxes, and no one favors punitive or discriminatory taxes.

And even many of the men in leadership posts have mothers, wives and daughters.

“It’s an election year, too,” Horner said, noting the ballot box power wielded by women.

Creating an exemption for feminine hygiene products wouldn’t be overly expensive, either. Estimates for the lost revenue range between $5.5 million and $8.1 million annually — less than .01% of the state’s revenue. That’s not even a rounding error in the 2021-22 $25.9 billion state budget.

It’s only when she’s asked “What’s next?” does Horner show herself to be something of a typical high-school senior.

She’s been awarded a full-ride academic scholarship to the University of North Carolina but she’s waiting to hear from Wake Forest before deciding. (Note to the admissions office: You might want to put a competitive package together for this kid.)

Beyond that, it’s not terribly surprising to learn she’s considering law school, public policy and, God forbid, becoming an activist lobbyist.

“It’s definitely a path I’m checking out,” she said. “Public policy interests me, especially after that two-bag escapade with the city.”