Tampon tax: an immoral anachronism or feminist histrionics?

cats_or_get_out · 2015-11-27T16:49:41+00:00

Follow the American lead. Dress up as bunch of Native Americans and dump boxes of tampons into the harbor. No taxation without representation! Wait, that's not gonna work. No taxation on female vexation!

2015-11-27T16:22:27+00:00

i was in the process of typing out a whole rant about bs like that but decided against it because nothing is to be gained from it. feminist activists make a living off of finding issues, if they dont, even huffington post would have to let them go. i dont know anything about the tax system in england but here in germany hygene products are all at 19% vat (i think, lol). my fiance's job (and many other professional settings) requires him to be clean shaven and with very short hair. he spends a lot more money on haircuts and shaving supplies (especially since he has really thick facial hair and razors dont last very long) than i do, including my feminine (hygene) products. should razors and haircuts be tax free too because for him they are essential? no. if you dont want to pay taxes for the things you buy, life's rough. or you know, get a moon cup, pay the tax once be set for years. it's not that hard.

toriar · 2015-11-27T16:13:21+00:00

I think the tax is kind of bullshit. Why not put taxes on condoms or other things too, you know? Either way, I'm not going to get all my feathers ruffled up for something so small in the grand scheme of things.

Plus, I live in the land up North where everything is taxed through the roof. I pay 7% tax on pretty much everything anyways, so I'm not concerned.

In conclusion: Is the tax stupid? Yes. Does it deserve this much media attention? No.

Sunshinelorrypop · 2015-11-27T15:18:40+00:00

It's straight up bullshit. If you're going to tax anything, tax alcohol, cannabis and things which are detrimental to society.

Hell, if we want the country completely fair, abolish all taxes and simply print the money and give to governmental programs, this way it's impossible to dodge taxes and everyone pays exactly the same amount (in inflation). All you've got to worry about then is how much we are printing and you can see that through economical markers such as inflation and interest rates.

SocialIQof0 · 2015-11-28T01:40:42+00:00

Well, my theory on the American front is that we tend to avoid taxing necessities and instead tax luxury goods or goods we want to discourage people from buying anyway "Sin tax". So on some level, I think some of the up roar from America is a notion, conscious or subconscious that this is akin to a sin tax.

I do find it odd that they're taxing tampons. I admit I didn't read the article - I really don't want to know that much about this I guess. But, why not diapers? or toilet papers? Just seems like an odd item to single out for a tax.

2015-11-28T20:26:56+00:00

I pay sales tax on toilet paper. I see no reason why women who use tampons shouldn't pay the same taxes on them. I switched to the cup this year, though, so I've rid myself of the burden of buying them at all, as these women could do, also. There are other options than an epic tantrum.

2015-11-29T04:49:33+00:00

First of all, that is legitimately only ~$10 a year (varying based on individual tax rates). Not a major dent in almost anyone's finances. Here, even food is taxed (1.5%). You cannot escape the taxes on anything except for prescription medications (which, surprise, tampons are not a prescribed medication!). It's stupid to scream for no tax on tampons if everything else is taxed anyway (including OTC medications, which tampons would technically fall under).

The only thing I'd lobby for regarding taxes is that prices on items already include taxes, but that's just for convenience. You can still calculate the total tax yourself if you know the rates in your area.

TL;DR: I think it's childish to scream about taxes on tampons; other "necessities" are taxed, too, but nobody is yelling about that.

GrasserGreen · 2015-11-30T08:16:46+00:00

Just my 2 cents on the issue : Tampons and pads create ALOT of waste that fill up our landfills, need to be treated, etc. Not to mention all the energy and ressources used to create all those tubes and sheets of plastic and bleached cotton in order to create said pads and tampons.

I think they are products that have a significant enough negative impact on the environment to justify their taxation.

Considering the array of alternatives that exist, and the fact that these are fairly recent products for something that women have been dealing with since the beginning of human existence, I think it's far-fetched to claim these products as "neccessities".

2015-11-28T02:44:51+00:00

I thought all these feminists were shipping Diva Cups and freebleeding so they could celebrate their periods without the patriachy forcing them to use tampons or whatever.

(tl;dr, I wouldn't even notice a tax hike on feminine products.)

ddrluna · 2015-11-27T16:20:54+00:00

It's not just in the UK. In Canada, the GST is 5% on the dollar and the PST is variable. If a box of pads or tampons is five-ten dollars, that means I'm spending at least an extra $0.25-$0.50 per box. But hell, let's go bonkers and bump it up to an extra full dollar per box because we're big spenders like that. Let's say a box lasts me three months. That would mean I'd need to buy four boxes over the course of a year. So in spending upwards of $40 on feminine products over a year, my heightened tax example means that I'm spending an extra $4 a year in taxes.

These guys are losing their damn minds over the equivalent of a Starbucks frappucino. PER YEAR. For fuck sakes, THIS was really worth all that effort. What a joke.

And yet people still question me when I tell them I don't identify as feminist.

FleetingWish · 2015-11-28T19:54:36+00:00

"Immoral"? I don't even understand the use of the word in this context. Which code of morality is violated by getting taxed? Sure, I understand that no one likes getting taxed, but it is certainly not "immoral".

They are just upset that in this case it is the women getting taxed, and, in typical feminist fashion, ignoring what men have to do, and what men have to pay for.

saffronbelle · 2015-11-30T09:05:27+00:00

The tampon tax is similarly related to the Pink Tax. Now, I'm an economics fiend. Studied it in university. Everything's an economic story, even the price of a Dove beauty bar vs. Dial. The simple reason why women's personal products (razors, deodorants, etc) are a little more expensive than men's products is because women are willing to pay more for these gender-specific items than men are. If they weren't, they would buy men's products instead and manufacturers would respond by lowering the prices of Passionfruit-scented shaving cream with a cute pink bottle. The no frills men's shaving cream is not a perfect substitute. They are two different products.

But I digress. The tampon tax is such a non-consequential point on an agenda that I don't know why so many women are up in arms about it. It's, what? An extra $5 or $10 per year? These taxes pay for services. In Canada, health care is provided and it is obviously an expensive service for governments to incur. Women's services cost considerably more than men because we require more expensive procedures. Governments pay when we have babies in the hospital. They pay for our birth control. Our abortions. These procedures are specifically for women. I mean, if we're more costly to the system, why shouldn't we pay an extra $5 a year in tampon taxes?

vernicq · 2015-11-27T17:21:32+00:00

I think its a semi step in the right direction. However I feel like men should also receive the same treatment on essential items. The only reason I was for eliminating the tax was because its an essential female product. (I now am not taxed on my tampons where I am from)

I do feel that there has been far too much media attention paid to it.

Title	Tampon tax: an immoral anachronism or feminist histrionics?
Author	moon_cakes
Upvotes	12
Comments	40
Date	November 27, 2015 2:26 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/3ugvkj/tampon_tax_an_immoral_anachronism_or_feminist/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/tampon-tax-an-immoral-anachronism-or-feminist.85798 https://theredarchive.com/post/85798

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