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The ‘tampon tax’ fight has reached D.C

buck

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As a republican, I say eliminate as many taxes as possible. Glad to see liberal women joining for that, too bad they are only calling for the repeal of a tax that they are the ones to pay.

However, it really isn't a tax on women. It's just a tax on hygiene products. Same as toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, etc. The only difference is this one is only used by women.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3b1c0c-f84c-11e5-8b23-538270a1ca31_story.html

Four D.C. lawmakers say they will introduce a bill to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from the District’s sales tax, joining activists in liberal states from New York to California in pushing for a remedy to what they see as an unfair tax on women.
Most states have for decades taxed tampons and related products at the same rate as other household goods, but that is changing.
 
This is really just another attempt to cater to women.
 
As a republican, I say eliminate as many taxes as possible. Glad to see liberal women joining for that, too bad they are only calling for the repeal of a tax that they are the ones to pay.

However, it really isn't a tax on women. It's just a tax on hygiene products. Same as toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, etc. The only difference is this one is only used by women.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3b1c0c-f84c-11e5-8b23-538270a1ca31_story.html
Now, that was a title worthy of notice! :2razz:

And a bit deceptive, but I realize that's not on you since it's the article's accurate title.
 
Perhaps if the same states that impose sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers... which are not luxury items, btw... also imposed the same tax on Viagra, which is exempt because it is considered a "necessity", there wouldn't be such pent-up resentment on the topic.

Just sayin'.
 
Perhaps if the same states that impose sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers... which are not luxury items, btw... also imposed the same tax on Viagra, which is exempt because it is considered a "necessity", there wouldn't be such pent-up resentment on the topic.

Just sayin'.

They aren't taxed as "luxury" items. That's just misleading. They are taxed as hygiene products... which are (in most states) taxed. Just like Toilet paper and all other hygiene products. This just happens to be a hygiene item that is only used by women.

They don't tax Viagra, because it is a medical prescription item. It's not because it's a "necessity" as someone somewhere must have lied to you about.


In New York, for example, the state’s tax code for drugstores and pharmacies (PDF) notes that feminine hygiene products are “generally subject to sales tax” because they are “used to control a normal bodily function and to maintain personal cleanliness.” Also taxed in New York state are soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper—all items required to “maintain personal cleanliness,” albeit not in as gendered of a fashion.

The ?Tampon Tax? Outrage Is Overblown - The Daily Beast
 
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Perhaps if the same states that impose sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers... which are not luxury items, btw... also imposed the same tax on Viagra, which is exempt because it is considered a "necessity", there wouldn't be such pent-up resentment on the topic.

Just sayin'.
There's no tax on "Viagra" because it's a prescribed medication. Or at least that's my understanding. Are there taxes on prescribed birth control pills?
 
They aren't taxed as "luxury" items. That's just misleading. They are taxed as hygiene products... which are (in most states) taxed. Just like Toilet paper and all other hygiene products. This just happens to be a hygiene item that is only used by women.

The point, which you totally missed, is that feminine hygiene products and diapers really are necessities, unlike Viagra-type products which are exempted from sales tax because they are supposedly "necessities". I thought that was quite clear. It was certainly quite clear to anyone who read the linked article in the OP.
 
Can men's razors be tax exempt? Many jobs expect a clean, shaven face.
 
More detailed information about the so-called "tampon tax" if anyone is interested.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/08/the-tampon-tax-explained/?tid=a_inl

For those uninitiated in the country’s tax codes (lucky you!), most states tax all “tangible personal property” but make exemptions for select “necessities” (non-luxury items). Things that are considered necessities usually include groceries, food stamp purchases, medical purchases (prescriptions, prosthetics, some over-the-counter drugs), clothes (in some states), and agriculture supplies. The lists of exemptions vary from state to state.
 
The point, which you totally missed, is that feminine hygiene products and diapers really are necessities, unlike Viagra-type products which are exempted from sales tax because they are supposedly "necessities". I thought that was quite clear. It was certainly quite clear to anyone who read the linked article in the OP.

They are exempt because they are prescription pills. No hygiene product is technically a necessity. Soap and toilet paper are taxed and everyone needs those too.
 
The point, which you totally missed, is that feminine hygiene products and diapers really are necessities, unlike Viagra-type products which are exempted from sales tax because they are supposedly "necessities". I thought that was quite clear. It was certainly quite clear to anyone who read the linked article in the OP.


Again.. Nothing to do with necessities. Tampons aren't taxed because they are considered luxury items. They are taxed as they are hygiene products and are taxed as all other hygiene products.. Toilet paper is just as big a necessity.

And Viagra is not "not taxed" as it's allegedly considered a necessity.. IT's not taxed because its a prescribed medicine.
 
Perhaps if the same states that impose sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers... which are not luxury items, btw... also imposed the same tax on Viagra, which is exempt because it is considered a "necessity", there wouldn't be such pent-up resentment on the topic.

Just sayin'.

Viagra is not a hygiene product, so it's not taxed as such. Why you feel the need to mention Viagra is frankly beyond me.
 
They are exempt because they are prescription pills. No hygiene product is technically a necessity. Soap and toilet paper are taxed and everyone needs those too.

Again.. Nothing to do with necessities. Tampons aren't taxed because they are considered luxury items. They are taxed as they are hygiene products and are taxed as all other hygiene products.. Toilet paper is just as big a necessity.

And Viagra is not "not taxed" as it's allegedly considered a necessity.. IT's not taxed because its a prescribed medicine.

That's not what the OP-linked article states. If you really are interested in more details about the issue, which quite frankly I doubt, you could always check out the more detailed explanation at the link in Post #9.
 
What's the thinking in taxing hygiene products specifically? We don't want people using toilet paper and deodorant?
 
That's not what the OP-linked article states. If you really are interested in more details about the issue, which quite frankly I doubt, you could always check out the more detailed explanation at the link in Post #9.

Yes it does. Why don't you just admit that your Viagra argument is just some feminist talking point that is used whenever birth control or any other lady products are mentioned? It's not as if people don't remember this crap from the Hobby Lobby or the ACA talks.
 
That's not what the OP-linked article states. If you really are interested in more details about the issue, which quite frankly I doubt, you could always check out the more detailed explanation at the link in Post #9.

So you state something wrong, and simply make more lies up?
 
The rationale behind the bill is that tampons and diapers are not merely "hygiene items", which are definitely considered necessary by both sexes, since men and women use things like deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc. It is that they are considered essential for health reasons.

Now people can disagree based upon their belief that women's monthly periods don't require specific sanitary products to maintain their health when shoving a wad of paper towel up there will do (which is completely untrue, since using unsanitary objects during a time of the month when the body is more susceptible to infection is why they were invented in the first place). However, most rational folks would agree that leaving infants undiapered, lying in their own wetness and mess, is indeed a sanitary health issue. This is why a few states have already exempted these two items from state sales tax.

The main complaint seems to be that only women would benefit from a so-called tampon tax (ignoring the fact that every parent in the country would benefit from a lowered cost of diapers). If indeed the main problem folks have with this is that only women would benefit since only women of child-bearing age have monthly menstruation cycles, then all the rational explanations in the world isn't going to help one iota.

Isn't really my problem, I haven't required sanitary products in years. But since this is indeed an expensive necessity that women require on a monthly basis for much of their lives, I can see where even a minor cost decrease would be a tremendous help.
 
The rationale behind the bill is that tampons and diapers are not merely "hygiene items", which are definitely considered necessary by both sexes, since men and women use things like deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc. It is that they are considered essential for health reasons.

Now people can disagree based upon their belief that women's monthly periods don't require specific sanitary products to maintain their health when shoving a wad of paper towel up there will do (which is completely untrue, since using unsanitary objects during a time of the month when the body is more susceptible to infection is why they were invented in the first place). However, most rational folks would agree that leaving infants undiapered, lying in their own wetness and mess, is indeed a sanitary health issue. This is why a few states have already exempted these two items from state sales tax.

The main complaint seems to be that only women would benefit from a so-called tampon tax (ignoring the fact that every parent in the country would benefit from a lowered cost of diapers). If indeed the main problem folks have with this is that only women would benefit since only women of child-bearing age have monthly menstruation cycles, then all the rational explanations in the world isn't going to help one iota.

Isn't really my problem, I haven't required sanitary products in years. But since this is indeed an expensive necessity that women require on a monthly basis for much of their lives, I can see where even a minor cost decrease would be a tremendous help.

The main complaint is that there are plenty of hygiene items that should be used to prevent health issues. Soap, toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, toilet paper, are all taxed. These things are literally needed by more people than just tampons and yet the only people that are trying to get tax removed from the items are items that people that have children pay for and that women pay for. I have no problem if you want to remove the tax from tampons. We should also then remove the tax from toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, floss, mouth wash, razors, the list could go on for ever.

If you are being overburdened by the tax that you pay on tampons per year, you either need to start making more than 10 cents an hour, or go to the doctor because there is something seriously wrong with your body.
 
It doesn't really have anything to do with feminism. The rationale is that the poorest single mothers are having to pay more for products that relate to feminine hygiene and their babies.

But the article mentions that the savings are $7/month, or $86/year in taxes. I suppose that could mean something to the most dire poor, but in the grand scheme I kind of don't get it.

Things like toilet paper and soap are inflexible goods too, so where's the activism for that? In terms of diapers, my children were raised on cloth diapers that we re-used. Pampers are bloody expensive!
 
It doesn't really have anything to do with feminism. The rationale is that the poorest single mothers are having to pay more for products that relate to feminine hygiene and their babies.

But the article mentions that the savings are $7/month, or $86/year in taxes. I suppose that could mean something to the most dire poor, but in the grand scheme I kind of don't get it.

Things like toilet paper and soap are inflexible goods too, so where's the activism for that? In terms of diapers, my children were raised on cloth diapers that we re-used. Pampers are bloody expensive!

Those things benefit men as equally as women. That's why the feminists don't care.
 
It doesn't really have anything to do with feminism. The rationale is that the poorest single mothers are having to pay more for products that relate to feminine hygiene and their babies.

But the article mentions that the savings are $7/month, or $86/year in taxes. I suppose that could mean something to the most dire poor, but in the grand scheme I kind of don't get it.

Things like toilet paper and soap are inflexible goods too, so where's the activism for that? In terms of diapers, my children were raised on cloth diapers that we re-used. Pampers are bloody expensive!
Agreed. I'd much rather see taxes go away on many hygiene products, but instead the pseudo-feminists have to turn this into another Social Justice Warrior cause and focus on tampons. It's why nobody gives a **** about feminists anymore.
 
This is really just another attempt to cater to women.

They aren't taxed as "luxury" items. That's just misleading. They are taxed as hygiene products... which are (in most states) taxed. Just like Toilet paper and all other hygiene products. This just happens to be a hygiene item that is only used by women.

They don't tax Viagra, because it is a medical prescription item. It's not because it's a "necessity" as someone somewhere must have lied to you about.




The ?Tampon Tax? Outrage Is Overblown - The Daily Beast

There's no tax on "Viagra" because it's a prescribed medication. Or at least that's my understanding. Are there taxes on prescribed birth control pills?

They are exempt because they are prescription pills. No hygiene product is technically a necessity. Soap and toilet paper are taxed and everyone needs those too.

Male.gif
 
That's not what the OP-linked article states. If you really are interested in more details about the issue, which quite frankly I doubt, you could always check out the more detailed explanation at the link in Post #9.

Yes, hygiene products (even those used exlusively by women) are taxed as... well.. hygiene products. Is a tampon a hygiene product? If so, then it is taxed the same as other hygiene products.

From the Illinois sales tax code:

“General merchandise” includes sales of most tangible personal property including sales of
soft drinks and candy;
prepared food such as food purchased at a restaurant;
photo processing (getting pictures developed);
prewritten and “canned” computer software;
prepaid telephone calling cards and other prepaid telephone calling arrangements;
repair parts and other items transferred or sold in conjunction with providing a service under certain circumstances based on the actual selling price; and
grooming and hygiene products.

Nothing about "luxury" or "necessity"

Are you also calling for an end to taxes on toilet paper, toothpaste and all other hygiene products? If not, then why are tampons so special? Just due to the gender issue involved? BFD.

Again, I'd like to see all taxes ended, but.. I suspect that's not really what you or these protesters want.
 
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What's the thinking in taxing hygiene products specifically? We don't want people using toilet paper and deodorant?

What's the thinking in taxing food and water for that matter? We don't want people eating or drinking? Taxes are just nuts all around. These kinds of threads drive it home for me.
 
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