NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2444A
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting from the payment
of sales tax the purchase of certain oral hygiene products
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to promote good oral health habits and well-
ness by conferring a tax exemption on the sale of certain oral hygiene
products.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision a of section 1115 of the tax law by adding
a new paragraph 3-c create a sales tax exemption for certain oral
hygiene products, specifically, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tooth powders,
and dental floss.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York currently exempts tax on the sales of drugs and medicines
"intended for use . . . in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention
of illnesses or diseases in human beings," as well as for certain
"products consumed by humans for the preservation of health." Good oral
health is an essential component of good overall health. The mouth and
teeth are part of the body, and they need to be nurtured and maintained
just like any other part of the body to sustain wellness. This bill
makes toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss exempt from sales tax,
and in doing so, puts the tax code's treatment of these oral hygiene
products on par with drugs, medicines and other products used by humans
to preserve their health.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8415 of 2024 - Referred to Ways and Means.
S.8349 of 2024 - Referred to Budget and Revenue.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Undetermined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first day of the sales tax quarterly
period, as described in subdivision (b) of section 1136 of the tax law,
next commencing at least 90 days after this act shall have become a law
and shall apply to sales made on or after such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2444--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, SEAWRIGHT, ANGELINO, JONES,
BICHOTTE HERMELYN, RAGA, McDONALD, KAY, SHIMSKY, SAYEGH, GRIFFIN,
DeSTEFANO, HAWLEY, CHANG, PALMESANO, ROSENTHAL, ZACCARO, LEMONDES,
SIMPSON, LUNSFORD, ROMERO, DAIS, HYNDMAN, YEGER, KASSAY, DAVILA,
O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting from the payment
of sales tax the purchase of certain oral hygiene products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 1115 of the tax law is amended
2 by adding a new paragraph 3-c to read as follows:
3 (3-c) Certain oral hygiene products, specifically, toothbrushes,
4 toothpaste, and dental floss.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sales tax
6 quarterly period, as described in subdivision (b) of section 1136 of the
7 tax law, next commencing at least 90 days after this act shall have
8 become a law and shall apply to sales made on or after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02212-03-5
