Because having a menstrual cycle is a “luxury”
By Veronica Haywood, NLC San Antonio
Corn cushions, Viagra, and hemorrhoid cream. There are thousands of hygiene and personal care items exempt from sales tax in states across this country, but menstrual products are often excluded, notably affecting young girls and women monthly. Instead of being exempted as health products, menstrual products currently are subject to sales tax as “luxury goods.” This not only means they are subject to tax, it also means they cannot qualify for payment by food stamps and other programs. I can only speak for myself, but monthly menstruation is far from luxury. 45 states impose statewide sales taxes and of those only 7 states (Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) specifically exempt feminine hygiene products from the sales tax base. This is unacceptable.
Across the world, it is estimated that 2.5 billion people lack access to decent sanitation, leaving many women without safe, accessible and cleanspaces for needed washing and hygiene. Yes,some women can afford to purchase a box of tampons every month for seven dollars plus tax. But homeless and incarcerated women often cannot, and suffer increased risk of health concerns due to limitations in obtaining necessary practical products. Instead, these women may use newspaper and magazines while on their periods because they are not provided an adequate number of pads. Similarly, some young girls too are often only able to afford using 2 tampons per day — unknowingly putting their safety and life at increased risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS).
This phenomenon known as the “pink tax” is just one, particularly egregious example of the unfair costs of a being a female consumer. Gender-based price disparities for goods and services have been documented throughout our economy. Across industry categories, women’s products were consistently priced higher, according to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs report. Overall for any given product, the “women’s” products were priced an average of 7 percent higher than substantially similar men’s products. The risks that come from this price discrimination are most pronounced in the area of womens’ health products, but they inhere in across the marketplace.
There have been may creative campaigns to bring awareness around the pink tax and tampon tax, but it can’t be a substitute for needed domestic policy reforms — starting with menstrual health. State legislations are being pushed to remove taxes and ensure that these medically necessary products are affordable and available to women. Community advocates are focusing on equity concerns, arguing that feminine hygiene products are necessities and should be exempt.
Yet, in response some policymakers note that exempting feminine hygiene products from the sales tax base would generate less revenue for the state. And it’s true. In 2016, the California Board of Equalization estimated that California would lose $20 million in state and local revenue from this one change of removing feminine hygiene products from its sales tax base. But these ill-gotten gains should never have been collected in the first place. Moreover, that loss in revenue is likely more than made up for by the aggregate cost savings of increasing overall women’s’ health in the population — though this is harder to quantify.
Beyond battling the stigma of menstrual hygiene affecting woman, it’s time to offer practical health and relief of a monthly financial burden. On the federal level, it’s time re-examine why federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition programs don’t include feminine hygiene items. And on the state level, we need to remove direct taxation and bar disparate pricing of these items.
This is about more than a few cents or dollars at checkout. It is about a systemic undervaluing and overcharging of womanhood. This taboo topic needs more than just the attention of community human rights advocates. It needs the focused and diligent attention of health professionals, environmentalists, economists, and, most importantly, governments.
Veronica Haywood is a registered nurse,lactation consultant, women’s health nurse practitioner student, and co-founder of her nonprofit Latched Support. She is also a member of the New Leaders Council-San Antonio Executive Board, a 2017 NLC San Antonio fellow, and a NLC Life Entrepreneurship trainer. She can be reached at veronicahaywood@gmail.com.
