By: Camille Pfister
Kayla Frazier, a junior at Cedar Park High School student, proposed a bill to remove all taxes on feminine hygiene products. Ultimately the bill passed. According to “The ‘tampon tax,’ explained,” published by The Washington Post, 43 out of 50 states tax tampons and other feminine hygiene products. Currently, these products are taxed as luxury items, and people have since named this tax the ‘tampon tax’.
“It would be beneficial for all women if they didn’t have to pay that tax,” Frazier said. “That’s a price women shouldn’t have to pay.” More than fifteen percent of people in Texas live in poverty, but the average price of feminine products is seven dollars – without tax.
During this debate, students stood to voice their support or opposition to this bill, through their own perspectives and ideas. “I am for this bill because the tax does add up and I feel it is unfair that it should be taxed as a luxury product when we don’t have a choice in the matter,” Ashleigh Mccoy, a senior Dripping Springs High School delegate who supports the bill, said.
However, Marsha Madrigal, a delegate from Box Tech High School in opposition of the bill, said “If it’s just one product I don’t think it’s going to make that big of a deal to put a tax on it.”
According to “Why ‘tampon tax’ outrage is misguided,” published by the Chicago Tribune, the ‘tampon tax’ helps billionaires more than it helps low income families. “When you strip taxes from tampons or groceries, you relieve not just poor students and families from paying them. You’re also giving a break to billionares,” said the article.
To help block the ‘tampon tax’, Change.org has created a petition to get rid of the tampon tax, which 66,514 people have signed; the movement has spread all over the country. According to “Tampon Taxes: Do Feminine Hygiene Products Deserve a Sales Tax Exemption?” published by Tax Foundation, tampons and other feminine hygiene products are taxed with a sales tax, which means they are not considered necessities. The debate is whether these products should be considered necessities or not. Frazier got the chance to defend her bill, and the debate went on.
“It is a necessity, and I really … think, no matter your income, you shouldn’t have to pay it,” Frazier said. “You’re basically telling women these products are luxury, and they’re not,” Frazier said. “This affects women and lower income families … which is why I urge you to support this bill.”