Check Your Receipt: Tweet Reveals Stores Are Still Charging Illegal Tampon Tax

New York state agreed to get rid of the tampon tax back in May.

They said that starting September 1, taxes would no longer be added to tampons and other ~feminine hygiene~ products.

This was great news. In many states, tampons are listed as "luxury items" and thus taxed, making them more expensive, which makes them less accessible to women, which is ridiculous because it's not like a woman with less disposable income can just turn down the flow of uterine lining when she's running low on cash.

The FDA does not require tampon makers to list the ingredients of the wads women shove up their vaginas on a monthly basis, but many women around the country are required to pay extra for that super special right.

So September 1 rolls around, and New York women are pumped to not have to consider preventing a blood stain on office chairs a "luxury."

The night before, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, who works at the Brennan Center, tells women to #TweetTheReceipt to celebrate the disappearance of the tampon tax:

So women start tweeting their receipts.

Except, there's something ... off.

The tampon tax is still included on many women's receipts:

So after all that work, a handful of stores around New York are still including the tax on tampons. Hooray!

Not all stores have failed on deleting the tampon tax. A few women got them without it:

tfw when you buy a box of tampons and there's NO TAX! #tampontax #TweetTheReceipt @weracket pic.twitter.com/cQNLjJ5T6j — Becky Hermenze (@fumbletons) September 1, 2016

It is an unfortunate truth that oftentimes in this country you need to know your rights to get your rights.

This is especially true where it concerns women's health. Insurance companies will use loopholes to make women pay for birth control when they shouldn't have to, for example.

I'm sure there are women buying tampons today and paying the tax without realizing they shouldn't be. Without proper implementation, a law is useless.

Hopefully, with public pressure, stores will update their systems and no longer charge the tampon tax. But it's a good reminder to check your receipts and make sure you're getting all your rights.

Citations: The Atlantic, New York magazine, Huffington Post