A group of young women have teamed up with a prestigious Houston law firm to get the state to stop charging sales tax on menstrual products.
Sahar Punjwani, a University of Chicago student from Houston, poses for a portrait on Friday in Chicago's Jackson Park. She is one of two young women taking on the Texas comptroller after the Legislature declined to remove the sales tax on menstrual products., our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
“I think that’s translated into a lot of frustration with my peers over not being able to talk about something that is so natural,” she said. “We’ve learned, from social media and other things, to translate that frustration into activism and actual results.”Punjwani grew up in Houston in an immigrant family in which menstruation and periods were seen as a taboo subject.
None of those bills ever made it out of committee. But in early 2021, Kass got the call: Howard’s bill was going before the state House Ways and Means Committee, and she was being asked to testify.Kass and another member of the coalition skipped virtual school for the day, drove to Austin, sat in front of a panel of state legislators and talked about their periods. She said it was empowering to get a chance to speak to elected officials, “especially because I can’t even vote for them yet.
Baker Botts agreed to take the case pro bono, which is how they all ended up in the tampon aisle at a store in Houston, watching Punjwani buy menstrual products. They then submitted that receipt to the Texas comptroller’s office, requesting a refund on the sales tax she’d paid — and a determination that all menstrual products should be similarly tax-exempt.
In February, the comptroller’s office rejected Punjwani’s request for a refund; she filed an appeal and requested a hearing. If that appeal is denied, they plan to take the case to the courts.Shoemaker McGonagill said working with the young women behind this movement has been one of the more inspiring experiences of her career.
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