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Arizona Bill To Remove Hearing Aid Battery Tax Passes Finance Committee

Senate Bill 1049 would remove a state tax on batteries used in hearing aids and cochlear implants. It passed a finance committee hearing Wednesday. It heads to the House next.

Hearing aids and cochlear implants are exempt from sales tax, but the batteries used to power them are not. Senate Bill 1049 looks to change that.

Sherri Collins is with the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and wants the tax removed.

“Well, you can’t use your device without the battery, so why are we paying taxes on the battery?” Collins said.

About 1.1 million Arizonans experience some kind of hearing loss. The cost for hearing aid batteries runs around $40, cochlear implant batteries run $175-$350.

Heather van Blokland was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2021.