Five New York women file class action lawsuit in effort to end tampon tax

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/women-class-action-lawsuit-taxes-tampons-new-york

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Five women filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday against a part of New York state law that grants tax exemptions to products such as Rogaine, but not to tampons and sanitary pads.

Plaintiffs say the state’s medical device tax law sets an unfair standard and is in violation of the US and state constitutions’ equal protection clauses because it treats women’s medical needs differently from men’s.

“Menstruation products are essential and it is time to acknowledge that access shouldn’t depend on who can afford them,” plaintiff Margo Seibert told Cosmopolitan. “We hope this case will encourage other states to tackle the issue. It’s time to talk periods.”

The suit also hopes to get women who have purchased tampons and sanitary pads in the state a sales tax refund.

In New York, products such as hair-growth treatment Rogaine, foot powder and lip balms are considered medical items, and are therefore exempt from sales tax. But feminine hygiene products are not. This includes: tampons, sanitary pads, douches and vaginal products that are not used for contraception.

The New York attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The plaintiffs include Seibert, co-founder of Racket, a project meant to destigmatize periods and provide equal access to feminine hygiene products; Taja-Nia Henderson, a professor; Catherine O’Neil, a mathematician and data scientist; Jennifer Moore, a children’s program coordinator, and Natalie Brasington, a photographer.

They are being represented by lawyers from the firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady.

“We hope this case will be the beginning of the end of the tampon tax in this country,” said the lead counsel, Ilann Maazel, in a statement.

A New York Times editorial last month called for an end to the tampon tax. “Getting rid of taxes on these products is an important first step toward making them affordable for all,” the newspaper said.

Campaigns have been launched in several states to do away with these taxes. Last month, an all-male committee voted to maintain the tax in Utah. And New York state lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation that would exempt these products from sales tax.

Barack Obama said in January that it was “pretty sensible” for women in states that have the tampon tax “to work to get those taxes removed”.

The US president told YouTube personality Ingrid Nilsen: “I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items. I suspect it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed.”