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FACT BRIEF

Did Wisconsin Republicans block a state sales tax exemption for menstrual products and breastfeeding equipment?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

On May 2, 2023, the Republican-controlled budget committee of the Wisconsin Legislature, the Joint Committee on Finance, voted to exclude the sales tax exemption for menstrual products proposed in Gov. Tony Evers' 2023-25 budget.

The committee also removed exemptions for diapers. Those tax exemptions would have reduced revenue by $32.8 million over two years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Republicans also stripped out a proposed tax exemption for breastfeeding equipment at a cost of $1.2 million over two years.

In a single vote, the committee removed 545 proposals from the budget, including an enrollment freeze in the voucher school program, marijuana legalization and repeal of a tax exemption for farm-raised deer sales. 

Republicans similarly rejected a large number of proposals in Evers' previous two biannual budgets, which included some of the same items that were proposed and rejected this session. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin State Legislature Summary of Governor's Budget Recommendations | 2023-25 Wisconsin State Budget
Wisconsin Public Radio GOP lawmakers remove hundreds of items from Gov. Tony Evers' budget
WUWM Wisconsin's budget committee approves higher pay for prosecutors, defense attorneys
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.