The governor of California voted against legislation that would have eased an unfair burden on women.
Across the country and around the globe, the fight to ax the "tampon tax" — and exempt necessary menstrual products from sales tax — rages on. Cosmopolitan has been at the fore of this growing movement as co-sponsor of the first nationwide petition, Stop Taxing Our Periods! Period., aimed at the 40 U.S. states that taxed these products. And California proudly kicked off the legislative fight, introducing the first tampon tax bill of 2016 — progress that was suddenly halted last week when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, even though it was passed unanimously by the state legislature and with tremendous popular support.
Over the past year, the issue has garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures and hashtags, grabbed headlines, and won editorial support; even President Barack Obama and the American Medical Association denounced the tax as a matter of gender equity and public health. In addition to California, 14 states and three cities pushed for fairness in their tax code by arguing that sales tax collected on the backs of women — for necessities like tampons and pads — is bad for equality and bad for the economy. Three states — New York, Illinois, and Connecticut — as well as the city of Chicago saw resounding success, thanks to the fierce advocates and fearless governmental leaders who gave this new movement momentum. Ohio and Michigan may also still repeal the tampon tax this year. Next year, we hope to be joined by states like Washington and Virginia. And we welcome states like Texas to join the fight. We’re three states down, 37 to go.
And we aren't giving up. California wasn't the first state to introduce legislation only to see it falter. In Utah, an all-male committee voted to kill Rep. Susan Duckworth's bill, arguing that sales tax exemptions should avoid subjectivity (this from a state that has carved out special rules for arcade game tokens and vending machine snacks). In Indiana, one state senator argued the since the tax exemption would only alleviate a financial burden for women, it was therefore inherently sexist. Clearly, our work is cut out for us.
In his veto message, the governor of California indicated tax exemptions should be addressed in the budget process. We look forward to having him put his money where his mouth is and support an exemption for menstrual products in next year's budget proposal.
This is not a partisan issue. The repeal of the tampon tax earned support from a broad coalition of pundits and lawmakers from all over the country, including in California. Both Democratic (Andrew Cuomo in New York) and Republican (Bruce Rauner in Illinois) governors signed laws to repeal it this year. In California, not only did the bill have the unanimous support of the legislature, but more than a third of California's assembly members and senators served as co-authors on the measure.
We do not have to choose between fiscal responsibility and a just, equitable tax code. Considerother items California chooses to exempt: buy a bag of Doritos, a box of Pop-Tarts, a latte, or racehorse breeding stock, and you’ll pay no sales tax in the Golden State. Meanwhile, women still earn less than men and are often paying more for the exact same things, from razors to shampoo to our dry-cleaning bill, due to gender-specific pricing, aka the “pink tax.” Women bleed economically by a thousand cuts. The tampon tax is one cut our state governments can easily abolish.
It also raises the important discussion of access and economic relief for heads of households, overwhelmingly women, who are struggling to put food on the table. In all of our work, we have heard stories of girls using socks as menstrual products because they are poor and don't want to miss school. Women who are homeless are forced to wad toilet paper and newspapers in their pants because shelters don’t regularly receive donations of tampons or pads. These products should be free in schools, shelters, and prisons — just like toilet paper. New York City led the way for the nation this past June, when it passed a package of laws to do just that; California plans to follow this model and expand access to these products too.
Sales tax exemptions for necessities were written in a time when there were few, if any, women at the table to craft public policy. As President Obama has reflected, tampons were overlooked because the leaders at the table didn't talk about — or even think about! — menstruation. Today, there is just no excuse. We all know that women fight in the military, hold down minimum wage jobs, manage companies, and win Olympic medals — all while having their periods. But, ultimately, this isn’t about men versus women. It’s about ensuring that our tax code doesn’t unfairly burden or penalize women for a basic, normal biological function. It’s about equity. Period.
California Assembly Member Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, is the author of A.B. 1561, which would have repealed the sales tax on menstrual products in California.
Over the past year, the issue has garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures and hashtags, grabbed headlines, and won editorial support; even President Barack Obama and the American Medical Association denounced the tax as a matter of gender equity and public health. In addition to California, 14 states and three cities pushed for fairness in their tax code by arguing that sales tax collected on the backs of women — for necessities like tampons and pads — is bad for equality and bad for the economy. Three states — New York, Illinois, and Connecticut — as well as the city of Chicago saw resounding success, thanks to the fierce advocates and fearless governmental leaders who gave this new movement momentum. Ohio and Michigan may also still repeal the tampon tax this year. Next year, we hope to be joined by states like Washington and Virginia. And we welcome states like Texas to join the fight. We’re three states down, 37 to go.
And we aren't giving up. California wasn't the first state to introduce legislation only to see it falter. In Utah, an all-male committee voted to kill Rep. Susan Duckworth's bill, arguing that sales tax exemptions should avoid subjectivity (this from a state that has carved out special rules for arcade game tokens and vending machine snacks). In Indiana, one state senator argued the since the tax exemption would only alleviate a financial burden for women, it was therefore inherently sexist. Clearly, our work is cut out for us.
In his veto message, the governor of California indicated tax exemptions should be addressed in the budget process. We look forward to having him put his money where his mouth is and support an exemption for menstrual products in next year's budget proposal.
This is not a partisan issue. The repeal of the tampon tax earned support from a broad coalition of pundits and lawmakers from all over the country, including in California. Both Democratic (Andrew Cuomo in New York) and Republican (Bruce Rauner in Illinois) governors signed laws to repeal it this year. In California, not only did the bill have the unanimous support of the legislature, but more than a third of California's assembly members and senators served as co-authors on the measure.
We do not have to choose between fiscal responsibility and a just, equitable tax code. Considerother items California chooses to exempt: buy a bag of Doritos, a box of Pop-Tarts, a latte, or racehorse breeding stock, and you’ll pay no sales tax in the Golden State. Meanwhile, women still earn less than men and are often paying more for the exact same things, from razors to shampoo to our dry-cleaning bill, due to gender-specific pricing, aka the “pink tax.” Women bleed economically by a thousand cuts. The tampon tax is one cut our state governments can easily abolish.
It also raises the important discussion of access and economic relief for heads of households, overwhelmingly women, who are struggling to put food on the table. In all of our work, we have heard stories of girls using socks as menstrual products because they are poor and don't want to miss school. Women who are homeless are forced to wad toilet paper and newspapers in their pants because shelters don’t regularly receive donations of tampons or pads. These products should be free in schools, shelters, and prisons — just like toilet paper. New York City led the way for the nation this past June, when it passed a package of laws to do just that; California plans to follow this model and expand access to these products too.
Sales tax exemptions for necessities were written in a time when there were few, if any, women at the table to craft public policy. As President Obama has reflected, tampons were overlooked because the leaders at the table didn't talk about — or even think about! — menstruation. Today, there is just no excuse. We all know that women fight in the military, hold down minimum wage jobs, manage companies, and win Olympic medals — all while having their periods. But, ultimately, this isn’t about men versus women. It’s about ensuring that our tax code doesn’t unfairly burden or penalize women for a basic, normal biological function. It’s about equity. Period.
California Assembly Member Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, is the author of A.B. 1561, which would have repealed the sales tax on menstrual products in California.
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and author of forthcoming book, Periods Gone Public (Skyhorse Publishing, Sept. 2017).
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