Texas Is the Latest State to Drop the ‘Tampon Tax’

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On Friday, a bipartisan Texas bill that eliminates sales taxes on menstrual products went into effect, making it the 24th state in the country, as well as District of Columbia, to remove what is colloquially known as the “tampon tax.”

Before the shift, Texas had classified period products, including pads, tampons, menstrual cups, discs and sponges, as optional or luxury items and applied a 6.25 percent tax. Opponents of the tampon tax have long claimed that because other items — like contact lenses and over-the-counter medications in most states — are categorized as necessary and therefore sold tax-free, the tax on period products is discriminatory against those who menstruate.

“Every woman knows that these products are not optional,” Republican State Senator Joan Huffman, who spearheaded the bill in the Senate, said in a statement. “They are essential to our health and well-being and should be tax exempt.”

The new law also eliminates taxes on adult and children’s diapers, baby wipes, bottles, maternity clothes and breast pumps. Sales taxes on period products, which can cost up to $20 every month, vary by state but they range from 4 to roughly 7 percent.

While that may be a small additional cost for any given purchase, when “compounded over somebody’s lifetime,” it can add up, particularly for those who live below or just above the poverty line, said Suzanne Herman, legal director at Period Law, a Nonprofit organization that has been filing lawsuits around the country to challenge tampon taxes.

A 2019 survey of low-income women in St. Louis found that 64 percent were unable to afford menstrual products in the previous year — a situation that can hinder an individual’s ability to work and can negatively affect mental health. Government programs for low-income people, like the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid, don’t typically cover the cost of period products.

Dropping the tampon tax is part of a broader effort by student activists and lawyers to make these products more accessible, echoing efforts in other countries, like Scotland, where period products are available for free. In the United States, 26 states and the District of Columbia have laws to offer free menstrual products in schools, and 25 states have laws to provide them in prisons. A new law introduced in Congress this year, the Menstrual Equity for All Act, proposes mandating Medicaid coverage of period products.