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Human Rights and the Taxation of Menstrual Hygiene Products in an Unequal World

This chapter explores the gender biases embedded in facially neutral tax laws, focusing specifically on so-called “tampon taxes,” levies exacted on menstrual hygiene products. In most of the states in the United States, menstrual hygiene products are subject to sales tax. Meanwhile, in much of the European Union, these products are treated as luxuries and are subject to the highest rate of VAT. The various human rights affected by tampon taxes include the rights to be free from discrimination, to health, to education, to work, and to dignity. The chapter then considers potential venues and strategies for legal challenges in the European Union, the United States, and elsewhere. Strikingly, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) precedents cited concerning gender discrimination all involve suits brought by men complaining of disparate treatment—much as some of the earliest cases recognizing gender discrimination in the United States were brought by men.