New York is the latest state to scrap tampon tax
New York is on track to become the 11th U.S. state to drop the sales tax on menstrual products, with both houses of the state’s legislature passing versions of a bill that would put an end to the “tampon tax.”
Women are believed to spend up to $20 a year on the tampon tax, so the new law—which NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has previously indicated support for—could mean up to about $800 in savings on sales tax alone for the average New York woman over her lifetime.
“New York is leading the way in the fight for menstrual equity in the U.S.,” said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, vice president at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit based at New York University School of Law.
For Weiss-Wolf and her fellow activists, the activity in New York is “tremendous” but also just the first step, with 39 states remaining in which consumers pay taxes on tampons and pads but not on adult diapers, prescription drugs such as Viagra, Rogaine or even candy bars in vending machines, which are among the products deemed “medical necessities” and thus, tax-exempt.
New York is on track to become the 11th U.S. state to drop the sales tax on menstrual products, with both houses of the state’s legislature passing versions of a bill that would put an end to the “tampon tax.”
Women are believed to spend up to $20 a year on the tampon tax, so the new law—which NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has previously indicated support for—could mean up to about $800 in savings on sales tax alone for the average New York woman over her lifetime.
“New York is leading the way in the fight for menstrual equity in the U.S.,” said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, vice president at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit based at New York University School of Law.
For Weiss-Wolf and her fellow activists, the activity in New York is “tremendous” but also just the first step, with 39 states remaining in which consumers pay taxes on tampons and pads but not on adult diapers, prescription drugs such as Viagra, Rogaine or even candy bars in vending machines, which are among the products deemed “medical necessities” and thus, tax-exempt.
