All hail the tampon queen, Gov. Whitmer, who has repealed Michigan's 'pink tax'

Women make .82 cents to every dollar a man makes (which means we're paid 17.7% less than men, earning a whopping $10,157 less per year) and, if that weren't enough to make us scream, run into the woods, and start our own female-identifying society, we also have menstrual cycles and are, get this, taxed on essential feminine hygiene products like tampons and pads. Oh, for additional salt on the, well, wound, these products cannot be purchased using funds from federal assistance programs, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), even though they are classified as medical devices.

Are we having fun yet?

Well, as of Thursday, Michigan has joined the pack of now 21 states in the U.S. that have repealed what has long been referred to as the "pink tax." While it's up to the discretion of each state to create a list of necessary items that are tax-exempt — in Wisconsin, that includes gun club memberships; in Pennsylvania, pumpkins; and, in Texas, antiperspirant is exempt, while deodorant is not — in Michigan, we've been applying our 6% sales tax on those precious plugs and pads. Nationwide, it's estimated that women spend a total of $150 million on the tampon tax per year.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 5267, which will help women and families save money. She, of course, did this while in front of a wall of feminine hygiene products.

"By repealing the tax on menstrual products, we are saving families from paying taxes on up to $4,800 in spending over the course of a lifetime," Whitmer said Thursday.

The tax repeal also includes items like panty liners and menstrual cups.

Today, I eliminated the tampon tax to lower prices for Michiganders. Repealing this unfair tax has been a long time in the making, but this is the year that we pulled everyone together to get it done. pic.twitter.com/EWYpt5vTWc

— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) November 4, 2021

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