Over the past several years, there’s been an ongoing battle to eliminate the taxation of tampons in states, but time and time again, these bills have been shut down.
California has the highest sales tax out of all 50 states, with the tampon tax being the only gender related tax in the state. Periods taxes in California cost menstruators an estimated $20 million a year, according to Christina Garcia, a representative from California who has been leading the fight against period taxes for years.
Tampons, pads, liners and cups are taxed with the note of being non-essential goods, sending the message that feminine hygiene products are an indulgence, not an essential.
Women are having to pay even more money just for having the biological make-up that they were born with. Although California isn’t the only state to tax these basic necessities, gender inequity is shown to be even worse in this particular state. In California, one can get Viagra without being taxed. The period tax is inherently unjust for women, because almost all women menstruate.
It might not seem like a lot to have to pay an extra $7–10 a month, but it adds up, especially for low or no income women. Over the estimated 40 years that women bleed, that could add up to paying almost $5,000 in taxes for something that we can’t just “live without”.
This isn’t just a problem that is affecting women at the poverty line. It reflects the way that our society looks at menstruation, and it contributes to the ongoing stigmatization of periods.
State governments can deem items such as dry shampoo, Rogaine, and foot powder as tax exempt, and yet something that is a necessity in almost half of our populations’ lives is taxed. No woman would ever call cramping, bloating, and bleeding a luxury.
The efforts to repeal the tampon tax aren’t just about paying less money, but they also unlock the potential for a greater understanding about what it means to menstruate and why these items are necessary for our health and well being as people.
Periods should not be a financial burden. No one who menstruates should have to worry about where they’re going to get the money to buy something as necessary as toilet paper.
