Nevada eliminates tampon tax in leap forward for menstruation equality
This is One Good Thing, a weekly column where we tell you about one of the few nice things that happened this week.
In my feminist utopia, sanitary pads and tampons are provided free of charge by the United States government.
In my current reality, they're offered at $4 bucks a pack at CVS — and that's with the savings from my CVS card.
We're a long way from menstruation equality, which makes Nevada's recent elimination of the "tampon tax" a critical step forward.
On Tuesday, Nevada voted to do away with their 6.85% sales tax imposed on sanitary pads and tampons.
Hygiene products are typically taxed at this rate. However, Nevada decided to drop the tax given that tampons — unlike, say, luxury soap — are considered medical necessities.
The state is now among 10 that have eliminated the tax, including New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and Florida.
Advocates have argued that the cost of pads and tampons is too high, especially for low-income residents. Women who don't have access to these products may miss work or school, they explain.
We're shattering the glass ceiling, folks, one tampon at a time.
Topics Activism
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.
