Items like tampons and pads are currently being taxed as luxuries in many states, and they are not luxuries. In California this amounts to about $20 million dollars per year being made off of this specific tax (Larimer). This means that the state is profiting off of something that it not a “luxury” item. Tampons and pads are not like jewelry, taxing them as such adds to the stigma surrounding periods. In essence, tampons and pads are necessary items for women, a period cannot be avoided by women, it is a monthly occurrence that every woman aged 9-54 have to deal with and this tax on “luxury” items contributes to the wage gap because only women have to buy these items. The average cost per month for a woman in California is about $7 (Larimer). The high price can already be taxing, adding more onto the price can be detrimental. Therefore tampons and other items should not be taxed as luxuries. 

 The tampon tax is essentially another tax on women, which adds to the inequity of the wage gap. Women make an average of 79 cents to every dollar a man makes (End the Tampon Tax). Meaning that a woman is already earning less than men, along with the tampon tax costing so much this makes the gap of the amount a woman can keep in her pocket even more (if women's clothing had pockets, which is a whole other issue). Another point this brings up is the fact, that in chicago, the luxury sales tax is about 10.25% (Illinois advances bill to exempt tampons, similar products from sales tax.). This inadvertently makes a box of pads or tampons 10.25% more expensive, this may seem insignificant however, this adds up to $14.7 million dollars that the state makes annually in Illinois (Illinois advances bill to exempt tampons, similar products from sales tax.). This money that women are spending could go towards so much more than just feminine hygiene products. After seeing an add for the popular music streaming service spotify, there was an ipifony. A monthly spotify premium subscription for students, combined with a popular movie streaming service hulu is cheaper than the amount of money per month that women in california spend on feminine hygiene products alone (per month). No state should be profiting off the sexist act of taxing women for being women, and having periods. This fact adds to the already wide wage gap. Therefore, the tampon tax shouldn’t exist. 

 The other side of this argument may say that tampons are luxury items, and the states need the money that comes from the tax. This argument is flawed because by that logic toilet paper should also be taxed as a luxury, and so should the soap in public washrooms, because those are totally luxuries. The fact is a woman will not be able to control her period, and she will have her period for a great majority of her life (Kramer). When it comes to the tax depriving states of money, the question proposed is: how can states make up this money? The answer is they do not have to, if a politician is more worried about money than the good of the people, they should not be in office. The annual income from this tax is high, but should a state be relying on discriminatory taxes to make enough money? Additionally, there is always room for a tax cut, regarding things that the people don’t need, and increasing taxes on items in specific that would benefit the people, such as a sugary beverage tax. Showing how the argument of the other side is flawed and not based on evidence, purely on misinformation on how periods work, and the corrupt judgement of current politicians.

 All in all the tampon tax should be removed, from the way it contributes to the wage gap, and mis-markets tampons as luxuries. There are many other issues take the forefront but the US population should not let this slip under the radar, and continue to be biased against women.

"Illinois advances bill to exempt tampons, similar products from sales tax." Chicago

Tribune, 10 Mar. 2016, www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/br eaking/ct-illinois-tampon-ta x-20160310-story.html.Accessed 3 Feb. 2018. 

Kramer, Nancy, editor. "Free The Tampon." Free The Tampon, edited by Nancy

Kramer, www.freethetampons.org/ . Accessed 3 Feb. 2018. 

 Larimer, Sarah. "The ‘Tampon Tax,’ Explained." The Washington Post, 8 Jan.

2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/08/the-ta mpon-tax-explained/? utm_term=.1bbe5b31a89b.  Accessed 3 Feb. 2018.

Editorial Board. "End the Tampon Tax." New York Times, 8 Feb. 2016,

www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/opinion/end-the-tampon-tax.html?_r=0 . Accessed 3 Feb. 2018.
Ngabirano, Anne-Marcelle. “'Pink Tax' Forces Women to Pay More than Men.”USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 28 Mar. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/03/27/pink-tax-forces-women-pay-more-than-men/99462846/

I’m your older cousin

You know me

We’ve been close

You’re like my little sister

Here’s the thing

You are beautiful and strong

Wise and smart

The most amazing little girl I have ever met

But

Someday you’re going to get your period

And you’re going to be scared

But I want you to know

It’s not disgusting

It's expensive

It’s taxed

It’s a “luxury”

It’s healthy

It’s necessary

And sometimes you’re going try to get it to go away

But no matter what you should know that 

You are the most amazing little girl I have ever met,

And I’m going to change the world for you.

because there are so many things wrong
you deserve the world that we always dreamed of
the best environment
no discrimination

So I will change the world for you

Because I want you

To have the best world

And the best life

Enjoying everything