Media all over “end-the-tampon-tax” advocacy

by | Jan 30, 2016 | Activism, FemCare, Politics | 2 comments

As U.S. advocacy to end the “tampon tax” on all feminine hygiene products continues, Democratic politicians, including President Obama, dialled up the media conversation about the issue as 2016 got underway. Here’s a January timeline:

This tampon art piece might be considered a luxury item, but the real thing is not. Special Edition Playtex by Danielle Hogan, 2006. Used with permission. daniellehogan.com

This tampon art piece might be considered a luxury item, but the real thing is not. Special Edition Playtex by Danielle Hogan, 2006. Used with permission. daniellehogan.com

Jan. 5, 2016, Michele Gorman, Newsweek, California legislators seek to end “tampon tax” on feminine hygiene products

On the first day of the 2016 legislative session, two assembly members in California introduced a measure they hope will end the so-called “tampon tax” by exempting feminine hygiene products from sales taxes.

The tax currently is imposed on tampons, sanitary napkins and other feminine hygiene products in most states and many countries around the world. But on Tuesday, California assemblywomen Cristina Garcia and Ling Ling Chang argued that their newly introduced measure could close the wage gap separating women from men.

“Women have no choice but to buy these products,” said Garcia, who serves as vice chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. “You can’t just ignore your period, it’s not like you can just ignore the constant flow.

Jan. 7, 2016, Josh Barro, The New York Times, The Latest Sales Tax Controversy: Tampons

So why shouldn’t tampons get the same tax break as other necessities? It’s a question that’s been debated in legislatures around the world, with tampon tax cuts adopted in Canada and rejected in France last year.

Jan. 8, 2016, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon,  Time to end the tampon tax: Sales tax on feminine hygiene products unfairly penalize women

But while arguments over what makes something a necessity are open to debate, arguments over a fee that only affects one segment of the population are not. That’s what makes the sales tax unfair. And that’s a price women don’t deserve to pay.

Jan. 8, 2016, Sarah Larimer, The Washington Post, The ‘tampon tax,’ explained

It’s an issue that’s gaining more and more attention around the world. Canada’s tax on feminine hygiene products was lifted over summer, after thousands signed an online petition on the matter. In Britain, a few women staged a “tampon tax” protest while on their periods last fall.

Jan. 20, 2016, Sade Strehlke, Teen Vogue, Watch YouTube Star Ingrid Nilsen School President Obama on the “Tampon Tax”

As Ingrid and our president point out, however, periods are not optional for most women, and we shouldn’t be burdened with an extra charge when it’s that time of month.

President Obama sheepishly admitted that he doesn’t know why states tax tampons, but he suspects “it’s because men were making these laws when those taxes were passed.”

“I don’t know anyone who has a period who thinks it’s a luxury,” Ingrid responded. President Obama agreed, and said his wife, would probably agree with her too. “It’s something that’s part of our everyday lives, and is crucial to our health as women,” she continued.

Jan. 26, 2016, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, The Nation, Why Are We Paying Sales Tax on Tampons?

Most disagreement comes down to this—the predictable question that (mostly) men ask: If other necessities are taxed—soap, Band-Aids, toilet paper—why do tampons deserve special treatment? Anyone who has ever had a period (mostly women) knows that one can make do without a bar of soap, that bandages can be improvised and that there’s toilet paper aplenty in public restrooms. Women who don’t have access to menstrual products are prone to reproductive infection, not to mention humiliation. Menstruation simply is different—there is no analogous hygiene need. Period.

Jan. 28, 2016: Haley Snyder, Huff Post Politics, There Will Be Blood–So Long As There Is Inequality

For a woman making decent money, a simple tax on tampons may be unnoticeable, but for someone who is poor who spends a larger percentage of her money on tampons, a “small” difference may strip away her ability to afford a product entirely.

Jan 28, 2016, Kerry Close, Money (Time Inc.), The Tampon Tax Could Finally Be Eliminated in These States

At home, there’s hope for women who live in the majority of states that still somehow consider tampons a luxury. The issue has been getting a lot of press lately, with even President Obama admitting he doesn’t understand why the tax exists.

When asked this month by YouTube personality Ingrid Nilsen why tampons are considered luxury items in so many states, the president replied, “I suspect it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed.

Meanwhile, the Change.org petition (No Tax On Tampons: Stop Taxing Our Periods! Period.) launched by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Cosmopolitan magazine needs just over 6,000 more signatures to reach the 50,000 mark.

Canadian Laura Wershler, SMCR member and editor-in-chief of re:Cycling, was proud when the Canadian parliament agreed unanimously to lift the federal tax on femcare products in mid-2015. 

2 Comments

  1. David Linton on February 4, 2016 at 11:32 am

    What an excellent review of the DETAX movement! I’m hoping that we can generate similar coverage to the effort to pass the Robin Danielson Act to require regulation and testing of the content and manufacture of menstrual products. The time is right!

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