An all-male legislative panel in Utah's legislature sees no problem with women having to pay extra in taxes to go along with having to bleed every month. More important to them is making the tax system "predictable," which makes sense, since there's no extra and expensive thing they have to spend money on every month that the ladies don't have to buy. They're keeping a sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products.
Governments that make money off the products penalize women for their biology, some say. That perspective has picked up momentum, with at least five U.S. states dumping the taxes.
Pennsylvania and Minnesota are among states that have eliminated the taxes. A handful of other states, including California, have seen similar proposals before their legislatures this year. In Wisconsin, a Democratic lawmaker has proposed providing free tampons in all public buildings.
President Barack Obama said in an interview with a YouTube blogger last month that he had no idea why feminine hygiene products were taxed.
Overseas, Canada removed taxes on the items last year, and British leaders, who have set the tax at the lowest possible level, have considered doing away with it altogether.
These products aren't optional for women, they're not luxuries. Most states don't impose sales taxes on necessities like food and prescription drugs, but do tax these products along with diapers and adult incontinence products—other necessities. Democratic Rep. Susan Duckworth, who introduced the legislation in Utah included lifting the tax on those items, saying simply "[p]ersonal hygiene is a right. […] We're entitled to this."
Individuals would save on average $30 a year, Duckworth estimated, but the Utah Taxpayers Association opposed the bill, saying it would end up increasing taxes elsewhere because it would cost the state $1 million. I'm sure the women of Utah are glad to know that by bleeding every month, they are so vital to the state's budget.