Take Action Home >

Pads and Tampons are NOT Luxury Products!

13,135 signatures toward our 30,000 Goal

43.78% Complete

Sponsor: The Breast Cancer Site

Tell Mississippi and Alabama that feminine hygiene products should not be taxed!


In the United States, food, medical supplies, and other necessities, are often exempt from state sales tax1. Many items that don't seem quite "necessary" fall into this tax-free category, including items like sunscreen, Rogaine, and anti-dandruff shampoo2.

In many states, feminine hygiene products are also seen as non-essential, luxury items, and not exempt from sales tax3.

Menstruation is a fact of life for most women. Products like pads, tampons, and menstrual cups are essential to protecting health and sanitation. They are not optional, so why aren't they exempt from tax4?

Adding insult to injury is the fact that due to the wage gap, women make approximately 79 cents for every dollar a male colleague earns for the same work5. Not only are women being taxed for essential hygiene products, they have less money to spend than their male counterparts.

Some states have ended this unfair taxation of women, as lawmakers in at least 20 states introduced legislation this year. But at least 28 states still have the menstrual-related taxes in the books6.

Sign the petition and tell the leaders of Mississippi and Alabama to end this discriminatory and unfair tax!

More on this issue:

  1. Eric Figueroa and Julian LeGendre (1 April 2020), "States That Still Impose Sales Taxes on Groceries Should Consider Reducing or Eliminating Them."
  2. Patricia Garcia, Vogue (3 March 2016), "So Tampons Are Taxed, But Rogaine Isn't? What You Need to Know About the Recent "Tampon Tax" Lawsuit."
  3. Nicole Kaeding, Tax Foundation, (26 April 2017), "Tampon Taxes: Do Feminine Hygiene Products Deserve a Sales Tax Exemption?."
  4. Ashley Rapp and Sidonie Kilpatrick, University of Michigan School of Public Health (4 February 2020), "Changing the Cycle: Period Poverty as a Public Health Crisis."
  5. Amanda Barroso and Anna Brown, Pew Research Center (25 May 2021), "Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020."
  6. Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th (1 July 2021), "Three states have killed the 'tampon tax,' but advocates want more."
To Top

The Petition:

To the Mississippi Department of Revenue and the Alabama Department of Revenue,

I am writing to you today to bring attention to discriminatory taxation currently being practiced by your respective states.

As you are no doubt aware, the United States exempts certain products determined to be "necessities" from taxation. This includes items like sunscreen, Rogaine, and anti-dandruff shampoo which don't seem exactly necessary for daily life. But one class of items is currently taxed despite the fact that millions of women depend on them everyday: feminine hygiene products.

In your states, pads, tampons, and menstrual cups are currently taxable, leading to an unfair tax on all menstruating women. These items are not optional, so why aren't they exempt from tax?

Adding insult to injury is the fact that due to the wage gap, women make approximately 79 cents for every dollar a male colleague earns for the same work. Not only are women being taxed for essential hygiene products, they have less money to spend than their male counterparts.

As the two states currently tied for last in their dedication to women's rights and welfare, Mississippi and Alabama both have a long way to go to improve the quality of life of women living within your states. Making feminine hygiene products would be a small but significant step to improving your abysmal records.

Please, do the right thing for women in your state. This discriminatory taxation must end!

Sincerely,

To Top

Signatures: