By Danielle Bernstein   Don’t worry about paying sales tax the next time you go to CVS to pick up a prescription, buy some condoms, or stock up on sunscreen. These items are exempt from sales tax because they are considered medical necessities that are “intended for use, internally or externally, in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of illnesses or diseases in human beings.” But go to CVS to pick up a package of tampons? Time to pay up. Under the current tax code tampons and pads are not medical necessities, instead they are classified as items “used to maintain cleanliness.” This designation places tampons and pads in the same category as cosmetics like lipstick and shampoo. Interestingly, dandruff shampoo made the cut for a “necessity” and is not taxed. Any woman who has ever had to ask a stranger for an emergency tampon in the bathroom (and most of us have) knows this designation is incorrect. Tampons and pads are not luxury items. As one woman put it, “[They are] one of the most important things for a woman to have available.” And insofar as there is a spectrum of “necessity,” tampons are certainly more necessary that treating [read more]