Period Action Day: How one group is working to lower the cost of menstruation products

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local group of advocates from MADvoters Indiana will rally at the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday to call for the elimination of the so-called “tampon tax.”

MADvoters is a non-profit social welfare organization. Leaders from the non-profit will be joined by other organizations, community leaders, and legislators to call for the removal of taxes on menstruation products.

MADvoters says Period Action Day was established to fight period poverty. The nonprofit says 1 in 4 menstruating women in Indiana struggle to pay for feminine products.

According to the Alliance for Period Supplies, Indiana is one of 21 states that taxes these menstrual necessities. Hoosiers pay $5.6 million annually in sales tax for those necessities.

Period Law, a legal nonprofit, has successfully lobbied for the removal of the tax in other states. It’s collaborating on this Period Action Day as it continues its work to “eradicate period poverty and stigma through service, education, and advocacy.”

Several women will be speaking at the rally, including:

• Chelsea McDonnel – MADVoters Co-Founder and community activist
• Sen. Shelli Yoder – Indiana Senate, District 40
• Rep. Sue Errington – Indiana House, District 34
• Sarah LeBlanc – Purdue Period Poverty Professor

The Period Action Day Rally will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Indiana Statehouse. The event is open to the public and will include speeches, activities, games, opportunities to connect with legislators, and more.

How to get involved

MADvoters will be accepting donations of menstrual products at the rally as well. The organization will award a prize to the person or group that collects the most items for donation.

To donate:

• Bring items to the Statehouse on 10/18
• Purchase items from the Amazon Wish List at tinyurl.com/Periodwishlist
• Arrange a pickup of items by contacting madvoters@tylorbrummett
• Take your donations to a local drop-off point (Visit tinyurl.com/PeriodActionDay for locations)
• Drop off donations to a local facility, and email madvoters@gmail.com with a list of the items donated

Organizers say attendees can also bring receipts for Indiana period product purchases. MADvoters will then submit Tax Refund Request forms, along with the sales receipts from purchases of period products, to the state.

MADvoters says Indiana must process each Tax Refund Request by hand, leading to a laborious process if groups rally to submit the individual requests. MADvoters calls this “good trouble” in order to create change. The organization says this is the strategy advocates in Texas used to succeed in making the Lonestar State the latest to remove the “tampon tax.”

To submit a receipt:

• Bring receipts to the Statehouse on Oct. 18
• Mail receipts to MADVoters at PO Box 206, Selma, IN 47383
• Email photos of receipts to madvoters@gmail.com
• Submit receipts directly at INTime.dor.in.gov