The Women Tax: Feminine Hygiene Products Should Not Be Subject To State Tax It is custom in most state governments for products that are deemed necessities to not be taxed, such as food and wellness products. However, many state governments classify feminine hygiene products as luxury items. This means not only are these products being unjustly categorized as “luxury,” but also their prices are being raised due to taxation, which worsens the economic burden for women who require them. This tax has been a topic of debate over the years and has been nicknamed “the tampon tax” or even “the women tax.” Overall, state legislators should not tax feminine hygiene products as luxuries, as they are necessities to women’s health, happiness …show more content…
The Government Affairs Committee for Advocacy and Public Health has even reportedly supported legislative movements for the exemption of the tampon tax because of the health necessity tied to their use (Bohon 3). Overall, women must have access to feminine hygiene products for health purposes, yet having a tax on these items creates barriers for women who cannot afford them. Furthermore, feminine hygiene products are already expensive for many women. According to Arin Greenwood, correspondent for the American Bar Association (ABA) Journal, it is estimated that women spend 3,000 dollars on period products over the course of the menstruating years of their lives (4). While to some that may seem like a small price to pay, for others it comes down to choosing between their period needs and their next meal. There have been reports of women selling food stamps to pay for period products (Paqutte 5). According to Weis-Wolf, a human rights lawyer, this issue can even interfere with education: “If we, in our first-world country, have girls who are missing school because their parents can’t afford menstrual products for them — that’s a problem...” (qtd. in Paqutte 6). It is also argued that the “tampon tax” is discriminatory towards the female population. Connecticut Representative, Juan Candelaria, made a statement about the issue while supporting a bill to eliminate “tampon tax”: "How is it that these essential items, purchased by
Taxation surrounds us in the world. Individuals fear tax, and a majority of the items we use and need are taxed. Even on topics such as Celebrities and the Olympics, taxation manages to find its way to still come up.
“Sir James Clarke’s Female Pills” and other similar products were part of a class of patent medicines targeted at women and advertised as a cure to a universe of “painful and dangerous diseases incident to the female constitution” (Fig. 5The Daily Globe 1856). They offered hope for women in search of relief from monthly discomforts. In actuality, patent medicine manufacturers were capitalizing on the increased demand for abortifacients by advertising products that restored the regularity of the monthly period. To avoid prosecution, veiled language was used to advertise their nature, which compelled women to consider them for the purpose of removing what was described as “irregularities,” “suppressions,” and “obstructions” of the menses and to deal with all causes of the cessation of menstrual flow (Fig. 5; The Daily Globe 1856; The Star of the North 1855).
In chapter 20 of Nazisim volume 2 it discusses Women, The Family, and Population Policy. There are three different sources that talk about race, and how women, along with the Nazis, were heavily involved in creating the improved German bloodline. Also, anyone that was not a pure German was to be exterminated, because they did not follow the Nazi ideals. The idea of race is a loose term because the Germans wanted to keep their bloodline pure, and did not want anyone with any differences such as race, mental or physical defects coming to ruin it. So race was not the only factor towards Nazi ideals, but a big one.
Having cloth pads can work for so long until they are permanently stained and the disposable ones are easier to use. Having the tax remove would help more people than it would hurt, and it’ll help with personal care. The pads that are used by women today are made to help hide that unpleasant odor that comes from a period, and to let life go on. The wrappers maybe something to work on and in making it easier to be discreet about opening. The women of today have had enough to fight about, and this should not be one of them. Let the fight about the wage gap, but let them have pads and tampons tax free like the men can have their
On average women spends $1,832.55 while men spend $691.52 on personal hygiene. In Deborah Tannen’s essay “There is no unmarked woman” Tannen states that it is inevitable for a women to be unmarked. Tannen assert that ways a women is marked include the makeup a woman wears, her clothes, and the amount of jewelry she has on. I agree with Tannen because women aren't able to fully express themselves like men due to the stamp society has placed on us.
In America, Noreen Farrell, director of the anti-sex discrimination law firm Equal Rights Advocate says, “We have an executive order that essentially forces women to pay to keep companies in business that discriminate against them, with their own tax dollars,” said Farrell. “It’s an outrage."
Although tax isn’t all that much in some states, it does add up over time. Some women only make a certain amount of money and have to rationalize it for important things, such as food. Pennsylvania even went as far as not taxing toilet paper and diapers anymore because they view those items as a necessity. So why can’t tampons be viewed the same way? An Illinois law that took effect
The Federal Department of the Treasury announced on June 17, 2015 that a woman would be featured on a redesigned ten dollar bill, which is to be released in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which granted women suffrage. People consider both women’s suffrage and a woman to be featured on a monetary bill as victories for gender equality, however more obstacles lie in the path towards gender equality, obstacles such as pay inequality. Estimates by the US Department of Labor indicate that the average woman with the same profession as a man, both working under the same employer, are paid only 78 cents for every dollar the man makes. This is a problem for those striving for gender equality, and is sure to upset
The “Pink Tax,” the bane of women everywhere, and especially in corporate America. Women’s products and health lies in the hands of corporations who charge more for products geared towards women than their male counterparts. This is usually by a few cents on the dollar, but keep in mind that women are paid less than men. So, this can add up over time, and cause many frustrations.
Though there is no definitive date of when the pink tax began, news articles about it began to pop up in about 2009. Recently, there have been more articles about the “tax” as it is becoming more well known and it is growing to more products. Most women think this price difference
Abortion is a social and political issue that many people worldwide feel strongly about. Although the thought of “killing” another human being sounds horrific, it may be the only choice. The question that is often asked, does a woman have the right to choose what happens to her unborn child. Since a woman must carry a child during pregnancy and then be responsible for its physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being, as well as the enormous expense associated with raising a child, she should be allowed to decide if she wants an abortion.
State governments have passed legislation to regulate this so called ‘gender gouging,’ but protecting the pocketbooks of women requires making many more changes. Legislatures should change current regulations and create new legislation to protect women from gender-based pricing, and consumers should buy from manufacturers and retailers that have similar prices for products marketed to men and products marketed to women and should purchase the lower priced men’s versions when possible. This problem affects millions of Americans every day. Subsequently, many have attempted to change this injustice for many years and have had mixed results. The average person can help persuade the government, manufacturers, and retailers to change their actions and their policy regarding the issue of sexist pricing in many ways.“Pink Tax” is a general term used to describe the overall difference in price of women versus men’s goods and services. Ordinarily, this phrase encompasses several separate types of pricing and legislation, though. As previously mentioned, retailers charge different prices on items that are substantially similar based on a definition found by the New York City Department of Consumer
Menstruation is nearly a universal life experience for all females. The average woman uses approximately 12,000 to 15,000 non-reusable feminine hygiene products in their lifetime (Weir, 2015). Moreover, women spend around 7 dollars on average for a box of tampons on a monthly basis (Durkin, 2017). This cost does not include additional state government imposed taxes on feminine hygiene products which adds an additional economic burden. In Michigan, tampons are classified as “optional luxury items” by the General Sales Tax Act and there is an imposed tax of 6% on top of the purchase price (S.B. 0091, 2017). According to the Senate Committee on Finance, this sales tax
They won’t use any product that is invented or made by men. So are there people who don’t want to use pads or tampons during their period because it is created by men, so they will just go out in the public and free bleed as they call it. Now if you don’t want to use certain products for whatever reason why, you do you. But when it comes to your own, and others’ hygiene, you crossed a line. We live in a modern world, a clean, hygienic, free world. You have the possibility and the priviliges to keep yourself clean during your period and protect yourself from bacteria. Please use these.
Human rights which include the right to life and liberty as well as freedom that belong to all human beings inherently despite of their statuses without discrimination (United Nations, 1948). Among issues of human rights, women’s rights could be one of the most serious ones. In the 1990s, women’s rights were not generally accepted as human rights and suffered various violations (Bunch, 1990). Despite women’s rights have been improved so far in most regions that female have almost equal employment opportunities and enhanced status in society, the issues of female rights need to be considered because they still have inferior positions compared with men in workplace and society due to a lot of factors.