Having your period is awful, but having to pay for it is even worse. Tampons and pads are expensive. And certain states even put a tax on those products. There are only five states that do not put an extra tax on tampons and pads, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, not including the states that do not have a sales tax. But, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York would like to add New York to the list. He is expected to sign into law a bill to repeal the sales tax on tampons and pads. This is great for the women of New York!
Canada just became the first country to completely rid the country of the “tampon tax,” the sales tax imposed on tampons, sanitary napkins, and other feminine hygiene products. Now, more and more women in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and the United Stated of America are demanding their governments do the same thing as Canada. Of course, sales tax in the United States is complicated. Sales tax here varies from state to state. In order to relieve all American women of paying a fee for their periods, all 50 states would have to get rid of the sales tax on feminine hygiene products.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign Bill S6726 into law. This law would exempt feminine hygiene products, including tampons and sanitary napkins, from being taxed. This sounds pretty nice, considering this is not something that woman can prevent. It is something that is natural. Why would we charge woman extra for something they cannot stop from happening to them?
The New York Senate passed the legislation on Monday April 11th 2016. A sponsor of the bill spoke out against the cruelty of taxing products that woman need to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. “To consider that we exempt cupcakes and circus performances from the sales tax in New York State, but not sanitary napkins and tampons — products women depend on — is beyond comprehension,” Senator Susan Serino, who sponsored the bill, said in a state senate press release. I agree with her! It is beyond my comprehension that we can issue repeals for things that are purely meant for enjoyment and not for necessities.
In March, five women had filed a lawsuit against the state’s tax department to end the tampon tax, seeking “refunds for millions of women targeted by the illegal sales tax.” Refunds would be nice, but saving money in the future sound better to me. The lawyer for these women was surprisingly a male! “It’s time for New York to stop taxing women for being women,” Ilann M. Maazel, the women’s lawyer, had said in a statement. A statement I could not agree more with if I tried!
So here’s hoping that other states follow the example the states before it such as, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, and repeal their tax on feminine hygiene products just as New York is doing!
