Background: Change.org has started a global online petition to repeal taxes on sanitary products for women. In Michigan, a bill has been introduced to eliminate the tax on tampons. What say you about this?
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weirdest poll ever. but whatever. i say tax the tampon. but i also say tax the churches.
Why thank you! (But it’s not weird – it makes sense to me.)
I like Jennifer’s comment If it had a like button, I’d give it a like! But then I was against lifting the tax on groceries way back when too!
Amen to that Jennifer Goyette. Tax tampons … because if we don’t tax them then what’s next.
Lawmakers who even read the paperwork on this bill should be placed where they can serve the homeless, and abused. Or find a different way to help pay for nursing home care for people like my parents,
who saved what they thought was a fortune, when the State took almost everything to admit my mother when we could not lift her, change her depends or feed her anymore at home. Taxing tampons or not?? Shame on them. Double shame!
I’m not sure I understand the logic behind the petition, but here’s the issue as I see it. Feminine hygiene products are relatively expensive, especially for women who are economically disadvantaged. I’ve worked in a nonprofit adolescent health clinic in Ypsilanti and know firsthand that there are young women who either can not or will not go to school when they have their periods because they can not afford feminine hygiene products. That’s really sad; school is where they need to be to get ahead in life. They can’t afford NOT to be there.
So making feminine hygiene products FREE for women who can’t afford them would really be the best option.
Making feminine hygiene products that can be laundered and re-used is another cost-saving alternative, although it is inconvenient and impractical for many, if not most women.
Simply taking off a 6% sales tax off an expensive product makes them only slightly more affordable. For those of us privileged enough to be able to pay $10 or $15 for a box of tampons, paying the extra tax — or not, is probably not going to make much of a difference; we’re still going to buy them. But if eliminating the sales tax makes the product more affordable and accessible for any woman who doesn’t see 60 or 90 cents as no big deal, then I’m in favor of eliminating the sales tax.
Maybe it would be more effective to make tampons something that SNAP benefits (food stamps) could cover. Or maybe we need to be more vocal about asking for donations of feminine hygiene products to Food Banks and Back-to-School drives so women who need them can get them for free.
Knocking off the tax is just a drop in the bucket.
If, on the other hand, the issue is that it is more expensive to be a woman, that leads to other questions, like why is is that men’s shaving products and deodorants and antiperspirants are LESS EXPENSIVE than women’s? And men’s dry cleaning. And men’s shoes and clothes and alterations, and men’s haircuts. . .the list goes on. Why do women get charged more than men do for virtually the same products and services?
So you would agree that medications for ED, a 100% male problem, should be covered by medical insurance.
Hey Andy,
You may be as surprised as I am to learn that it turns out I am a prude, and find this poll highly scandalous. The idea of lawmakers using the “T’ word in public gives me hives — and I don’t mean Taxes. But please do post a poll as to whether we should tax churches and other corporations.
Ha! Love it. You must not watch much TV — tampons and leakage and bloat and gas and limp stalks are all over the place
Limp stalks?!
Um, you know, I mean, literally like actual vegetables. Er …
Definitely Ax the Tax as well as on Depends, Poise and other products for the older population. And definitely tax the churches. Restructure the whole tax system. When so many don’t care for the elderly, the poor, the disabled, our veterans, we need taxes to improve programs so they are not left out. Did you know MI is planning on cutting the mental health budget? Can you see what the next man-made disaster will be? How stupid is Snyder and his admins goin g to get?
I’ll put my 6 cents on the the side of Ladies, in the weirdest poll ever.
What Julie said!! And 3 cheers to Andy for this weird but provocative poll!
Hey, provocative R us.
I agree with Julie Seagraves. I have volunteered at homeless shelters for years and she is correct. While we’re at it how about including tampons , sanitary pads and diapers on Bridge cards ??!!
If you’re going to eliminate a sales tax on certain products, the sales tax should be eliminated altogether. It’s not okay to tax tampons, but it’s okay to tax aspirin, toilet paper, etc. ??? Whether you get a period or a headache or gotta go, it’s not a choice. And to Julie’s comment about girls not going to school because they can’t afford feminine hygiene products, I have to ask … how are they handling the situation at home? Please don’t answer.
Lots of medical products have sales tax. Aspirin, for example, unless it is a prescription. Let us eliminate the sales tax on all medical and health products. I agree with other posters that this focus on tampons is kooky. But, health products and medical product ALL can be exempt from sales tax. As food and clothing are exempt. This makes sense.
We have the topic of income tax as well. Why should medical and health products not be deductible from income tax?
I’m not even going to lower myself to answer the poll or sign the petition. Why are lawmakers even dealing with this? Linda, Mari and Julie make good points. Also, I can’t believe that the Supreme Court is having to decide if contraceptives must be covered in all health care plans. Contraception is a huge issue in every woman’s health. It’s every woman’s private decision like any other health issue!! Why is it a question?
OMG! If this revenue STREAM is PLUGGED the FLOW of tax dollars will put our state permanently in the RED! Stop the madness (or at least the puns). Thanks for reading…