Tampon Tax vs. Pink Tax (Both Vs Women and Girls)
One is an actual sales tax you pay. The other is an additional hidden cost. Both impact girls and women. The Tampon Tax is a sales tax on period products while the Pink Tax is an increased cost on a product marketed based on gender.
Taxing Period Products
Around the world, products that are considered basic necessities are mainly exempt from a value-added or sales tax. These are things like groceries, over-the-counter medications, and toilet paper.
Interesting what is not always considered a basic necessity - feminine hygiene products. That’s known as the Tampon Tax although it applies to more than tampons.
Why is this a health issue (other than how angry it makes us)?
Separate research by U of Kotex, Thinx and PERIOD, and Intima show the impact:
Two in five girls and women had trouble getting period products
38% report missing work or school as a result
29% had to choose between products and their children’s education
16% said they had to choose between food and period products in the pandemic
Taxing these essential products put them farther out of reach. Programs like SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program), which help pay for essential food items, do not cover period products. (See the ways you can take action on Period Poverty at the end of this article.)
As of today, Period Law’s tracking shows these products are still taxed in 24 states. When you consider that on average a women spends over $6,000 on period products. Check out their site or Tax-Free Period to see if your state is one of them.
Pre-tax dollars for period products
There is some good news. As of January 2020, the Cares Act reclassified period products and other feminine products as a qualified medical expense. If you have an HSA (healthcare spending account) or FSA (flexible spending account), you can use pre-tax dollars to buy those products. Items that qualify include:
Tampons
Sanitary pads and liners
Menstrual products
Incontinence products
What other essential items are taxed?
Diapers are taxed in 33 states
Breast pumps and breastfeeding supplies are subject to sales tax in some states. However, the IRS considers them medical care and as such they can be deducted from your taxes if your medical expenses hit a certain threshold.
The tax that isn’t really a tax
The Pink Tax is not an actual tax but rather when items that are essentially the same but are marketed and priced differently for men and women. That might be due to the colors or packaging or something as minor as the scent in a hair product.
And it starts early, “girl toys” average 2 to 13% more than “boy toys” based on traditional gender views on color. (don’t get us started on the distinction between a girl toy and a boy toy).
Annually, the Pink Tax costs the average woman $1,351 per year and one study found almost 800 products that cost an average of 7% more for women.
Women pay more across a variety of products and services including:
Clothing
Dry Cleaning
Razors
Shampoo and hair care
Deodorant
Bike Helmets!
There is good news on the horizon and ways you can impact the Pink Tax. A bill (H.R. 3853) has been re-introduced to Congress to prohibit pricing difference based solely on the gender of the individual for whom the product is intended.
Action you can take on Period Poverty:
You can help support women and girls experiencing Period Poverty by donating products to your local homeless and domestic violence shelters or donating or supporting these organizations: