What Is the Tampon Tax?

Unlike other products that are understood to be basic necessities, menstrual hygiene products are taxed by various governments worldwide. The tampon tax is the term used for this levy.

These products are not subject to a unique or special tax but are classified as luxury items along with other goods that are not exempted.

The tampon tax is often viewed as a part of the unofficial, and biased, "pink tax," which according to studies makes products costlier for those who menstruate.

Understanding the Tampon Tax

The primary argument in support of the tampon tax is revenue collection. Critics of this tax argue that menstrual hygiene products are basic necessities and taxing them is unconstitutional and a form of discrimination. Exempting these goods by categorizing them as medical equipment or supplies would greatly benefit low-income groups.

Other items that are considered necessities by many, such as groceries, prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, condoms, and erectile dysfunction pills are normally tax-free.

As of June 2023, 21 state governments in the U.S. levy taxes on menstrual hygiene products, such as pads and tampons. (Some local governments levy additional sales taxes, as well.)

These states are:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Missouri
  
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Raise Revenue or Repeal?

In 2004, Kenya became the first country to abolish the tampon tax. As of August 2023, the following countries have removed the tampon tax:

• Australia
• Bahamas
• Canada
  
• Columbia
• Ecuador
• England
• Guyana
• India
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• Scotland
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Uganda

In the U.S.

The California government led by Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a tampon tax relief bill that passed both houses of the state legislature in 2016. The governor feared that tampon tax relief would mean a drop in public revenue.

However, on Jan. 1, 2020, the state halted taxes on menstrual hygiene products for two years. It then eliminated them beginning in 2023. The government estimated that cutting the diaper and tampon tax would eliminate about $55 million in revenue from the more than $200 billion budget.

In the state of New York, where the tax is no longer imposed, the loss in revenue was estimated to be $14 million a year, according to a lawsuit filed in 2016.

Arguments for and Against

The Tax Foundation's Nicole Kaeding argued that removing taxes on these products put other items at risk of higher rates, and different products can be regarded as necessities by different groups.

However, those against the tax say it is a tax on those who menstruate. Budgets shouldn't be "balanced on women's backs," as California State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia put it.

A University of Richmond study also found that while the tax break is fully shifted to consumers, it is not distributed equally.

"Low-income consumers enjoy a benefit from the repeal of the tax by more than the size of the repealed tax. For high-income consumers, the tax break is shared equally with producers. The results suggest that repealing tampon taxes removes an unequal tax burden and could make menstrual hygiene products more accessible for low-income consumers," stated a paper published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

National Period Day

Oct. 19, 2019, was the first National Period Day in the U.S. with 60 rallies nationwide calling for the elimination of the "archaic" and "unfair" sales tax on menstrual products. It was launched by a non-profit organization called Period.

U.S. politicians, including Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Beto O'Rourke, and Cory Booker used the hashtag #NationalPeriodDay online to express their support for menstrual equity.

A bill introduced to Congress in March 2019 by Rep. Grace Meng called the Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2019 aimed to make these products more accessible to all people who menstruate. Rep. Meng reintroduced the bill on May 24, 2023 (now labeled H.R.3646 - Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2023). It is in progress.

The Bottom Line

The tampon tax refers to the luxury tax and other taxes levied on menstrual hygiene products in the U.S. and in many other countries across the globe. The fight to repeal such taxes is driven by the belief that they make basic health-related necessities essential for human dignity more expensive and are discriminatory. Various U.S. states and some countries have eliminated the tampon tax.