Last November, the organization responsible for making sales tax collection easier for its 24-member states voted unanimously to adopt a new term for “feminine hygiene products”.
Menstrual Discharge Collection Devices
Yes, you read that correctly. An article in The Washington Post by Laura Strausfeld, the founder of Period Law, added a bit of “womansplaining”: Tampons, pads, menstrual cups and liners are regulated by the FDA as medical devices and tagged by the IRS as qualified medical expenses. Like the many other devices and drugs people buy tax-free, these products deserve to be treated as the necessities they are.
In case you cannot access the article, here are a couple of key points:
A male state sales tax expert pulled the author aside at a conference with a tip, “The most compelling thing you said is that people will bleed through their clothes without these products. Some people may not know that.” We women have been very good at hiding the reality of having periods.
All states but Idaho have at one point introduced a bill to end the tampon tax.
Texas is the latest state to end its tampon tax. 19 other states have also ended the “pink tax” since 2016.
Although we would love to tackle this issue and help bring a bill to eliminate this tax, we will continue to bring this issue to the forefront.
Kommentarer