ABSTRACT
This chapter first demonstrates that government intervention with regard to the pink tax and tampon tax is not only necessary but also inevitable. In fact, the practices concerned are untenable, they constitute ‘bad taxes’ and, most importantly, they amount to unlawful sex discrimination. The pink tax, expressly targeting women on the sole basis of their sex, amounts to direct sex discrimination. The tampon tax, submitting one sex (women) to a higher rate on purpose, constitutes an implicit bias inherent to the organizational structure of the tax. Both practices violate the principle of non-discrimination protected by constitutional norms and/or provisions of international treaties. Non-discrimination is also considered to constitute one of the general principles of law.
This chapter then examines the possible means of government intervention. It is argued that the pink tax can effectively be eliminated by adoption of a ‘Sex-Based Pricing Repeal Act’ and the tampon tax can be either alleviated or eliminated simply by reducing the consumption tax rate applied to women’s sanitary protection products. Depending on the concrete circumstances in a given country, it may also be advisable to keep the tampon tax and use the funds collected to support women in need.
