Tampon tax to be scrapped in Chicago, Illinois still considering state-wide change

The City Council unanimously voted to remove the tax and classify tampons and feminine products as medical necessities

Protestors in France demonstrate how taxing a woman's period has become a global issue (Getty)

Chicago has decided to remove the tax from tampons and other feminine hygiene products, reclassifying them as medical necessities rather than luxury items.

The City Council voted to remove their portion - 1.25 per cent - of the total 10.25 per cent tax, as reported by the Associated Press.

Illinois is still considering a state-wide change to the law.

The measure, introduced by Chicago's finance committee, was met without opposition, and joins states that have dropped the tax including Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

At least seven states are considering similar legislation but success is not guaranteed.

Earlier in March, an all-male panel of lawmakers in Utah voted against removing the feminine products tax.

“I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items,” President Obama said in an interview with YouTube personality Ingrid Nilsen in January. “I suspect it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed.”

Five women recently filed a lawsuit in New York arguing that the state’s 4 per cent tampon tax is unconstitutional.

New York currently does not charge tax for other medical items which include dandruff shampoo, lip balm and products which stimulate hair growth for men.

“It is a vestige of another era, and now is the time to end it,” the lawsuit said, which claims that low-income women are hit hardest by the tax. Their plight is supported by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, as reported by CBS.

Women’s periods, tampons and sanitary pads have become a global, issue, being debated from Canada and France to Australia.

In the UK the tampon tax was abolished after the European Union approved a zero VAT-rating for sanitary products this week.

It has yet to be determined, however, what will happen to that portion of UK tax money which was to be channeled into funding domestic violence shelters - a move that was announced just a few months ago.