It’s Time to End the Discriminatory Period Tax in Indiana

By: Shruti Rana

Women4 Change Public Policy Committee Member

Women and girls in Indiana continue to face disproportionate economic burdens which directly impact the future of our state. Senate Bill 169, authored by Sen. Shelli Yoder, would take us one step closer to equality by eliminating the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products and products used to manage incontinence. 

Twenty-three U.S. states have already passed bills making period products tax-free, recognizing that states should not be profiting off of essential products that make it possible for menstruating people and those experiencing incontinence to participate in educational and employment opportunities as well as support their safety, health, and dignity. In fact, because the tax on feminine hygiene products—the “period tax” or “tampon tax —primarily affects women and girls, it is a form of sex-based discrimination and is unconstitutional.  

This discrimination has far-reaching implications. The average menstruating person can expect to experience 450 periods in her lifetime, and spend thousands of dollars on period products. A recent Indiana report found that one in four women struggle to afford period products. Lack of access to needed products creates health and safety risks, and women and girls in Indiana and worldwide report that they are often unable to participate in school or work because of lack of access to products that would help them manage their periods or incontinence. These educational and employment losses translate to real economic losses for our state and impede Hoosiers’ future. 

Treating period and incontinence products as if they were “luxury” as opposed to “essential” items for health and dignity is also deeply unfair and puts women in Indiana even further back in comparison to their peers around the country. In Indiana, Viagra and Propecia are available tax-free, while the feminine hygiene products essential to women’s health and their educational and workplace participation are not deemed to be necessities and are taxed. Indiana already has one of the highest gender pay gaps in the U.S., as well as one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, and the period tax further disproportionately burdens Hoosier women and girls. In this light, as Rep. Hamilton recently noted, ending the period tax “is something we can do that is a small but important step to show that we care about women and mothers” in Indiana. It’s time for Indiana to stop this form of discrimination and end the state sales tax on feminine hygiene and incontinence products. 

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