REPEALING THE TAMPON TAX

You lock the door. You sit. You look down. It’s everywhere. You don’t have anything in your bookbag, and the box next to the sinks dispenses them for 25 cents. You don’t carry quarters.

This scenario, perhaps painfully familiar to many menstruators, illustrates the monetization of a natural, biological process. Wherever period products are sold, they pose an unfair financial burden. This is not just limited to bathrooms. As of November 2019, 34 states tax menstrual hygiene products at the same rate as “non-essential” goods, whereas other hygiene products are granted tax exemptions. The sales tax imposed on period products is commonly referred to as the “tampon tax,” and it applies to menstrual hygiene products, like pads, tampons, and menstrual cups. It is not an additional tax levied on these items, but the tampon tax still poses and undue financial burden.

The controversy surrounding the tampon tax becomes clearer when one considers what is not taxed at the same rate as female hygiene products, items considered basic necessities and thus subject to tax exemptions: condoms, chapstick, razors, and deodorant. No one can deny the usefulness of these items, but when the comparison must be made, are pads, tampons, and other menstrual products any less necessary? A lack of access to menstrual products leads to missed school and work, and, in extreme cases, can lead to health issues if unhygienic alternative methods to capture blood flow are used. Menstrual equity advocates contend that, in order to create a society where every individual can participate fully and equally, period products must be both available and accessible to those who need them.

The origins of the tampon tax are nebulous. It was likely an oversight of the all-male state legislature when the tax code was first addressed. It has now evolved into an enduring discriminatory policy that has solidified the tax on menstrual products as the status quo for policymakers.

The sales tax in the state of Georgia is 4 percent, but the actual tax imposed on period products is always higher: local municipalities add their own rates on top of the state’s tax. For example, the combined sales tax rate in Athens-Clarke County is 8 percent. As shown in the picture below, the tax adds a 76 cent additional cost to a typical 9.49 dollar box of pads, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s classification of the products as medical devices.

Saving a few dollars every couple of months on menstrual products may not seem like a significant portion of one’s income. However, poverty disproportionately affects women, and more specifical-

ly, women who menstruate. Sales tax is already a regressive tax– a tax rate that takes a larger portion of lower incomes than higher incomes. Thus, taxing essential items like menstrual products amounts to discrimination not just on the basis of sex, but on socioeconomic status as well. A study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that 2 out of 3 low-income women find that they cannot afford period products at least once a year. This hardship is made even more difficult for low-income menstruators because federal assistance programs such as SNAP (commonly referred to as food stamps), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Medicaid cannot be used to purchase menstrual products.

The enduring taxation on period products can be explained by reasons ranging from revenue earned by the tax to cultural stigma surrounding menstruation. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts estimates that the state receives $9 million of revenue annually from the tax imposed on period products. This sum accounts for a mere 0.03 percent of the yearly fiscal budget.

Additionally, the disproportionately low percentage of female lawmakers in the Georgia General Assembly (30.5 percent) ensures that the voices of menstruators regarding issues of period product access are overpowered by those who do not menstruate. Studies have shown that women in political bodies prioritize issues of direct consequence to women: Democratic women sponsor bills related to women’s health at twice the rate of men in their party. Above all, the most subtle, but arguably the most impactful, reason for the lack of action until recently on the issue of menstrual equity is the culturally ingrained idea that discussion regarding menstruation should be kept to women. Specifically, that only mothers and their daughters, and maybe close friends, should talk about periods with each other, and that certainly men should not be involved in the conversation. The discomfort of topics like periods in public spaces translates to a lack of urgency in addressing, or worse, a conscious effort to work against, menstrual equity in political spheres.

Recently, attempts have been made in Georgia to remove the tampon tax completely. The 2019 legislative session saw the introduction of House Bill 8 by State Rep. Debbie Buckner, which would grant tax exemptions to all widely used menstrual products. The bill only madeit to Second Reading, a step automatically taken after a bill is introduced in the Georgia House.

Georgia lags well behind other states in the repeal of the tampon tax. New Jersey repealed its tampon tax back in 2005,

and an academic study confirmed what many knew to be true: the tax break benefitted lower-income menstruators. In 2016, New York State passed a bill to exempt period products from sales tax after a lawsuit was filed that likened pads, tampons, and other menstrual hygiene products to bandages, gauze, and dressings (which are exempt from tax) by arguing that both act to stop blood flow.

Despite Georgia’s politicians’ relatively sluggish approach to addressing the tampon tax, there is reason to be optimistic about the future of menstrual equity in the state. Coalitions such as Georgia STOMP (Stop Taxes on Menstrual Products) bring together different organizations with vested interests in women’s health to amend Georgia’s tax code to reflect the medical necessity of period products. Additionally, PERIOD., an organization dedicated to “lead[ing] the menstrual movement,” seeks to end period poverty and period stigma through service, education, and advocacy. PERIOD. has chapters in all 50 states (including several in Georgia) and estimates that the organization has provided period kits for over 700,000 periods nationally at the time of writing. These two organizations are notable for their success in bringing periods into the political arena. While charities and other service-based organizations dedicated to serving low-income menstruators by providing period products to address one of the most pressing public health issues we face are doing commendable work, they only provide a short-term solution. If donating menstrual products to people in need is not accompanied by policy change, then lower-income menstruators will forever be reliant on charitable individuNo sales tax

Tampon tax

No tampon tax als to supply a necessity. To sustainably affect institutional and cultural change, legislative action must be taken to repeal the “non-essential” status of period products. Twelve states have accomplished exactly that. As the discourse surrounding periods begins to change from one that shames and marginalizes menstruation to one that accepts it as a biological process, more states will hopefully begin to pass legislation that classifies menstrual products as what they are: necessary medical devices.