1. What is the pink tax?
Gender inequality manifests itself in multiple ways within social, economic, and legal structures, often indirectly and in a naturalized manner.
In the context of consumption and taxation, one such expression is the phenomenon known as "pink tax," a term used to describe the practice of applying higher prices to products and services aimed at women, even when there are no substantial differences compared to those intended for men.
Although the term refers to the idea of taxation, it is essentially a market distortion that, when associated with the regressive structure of consumption taxation, ends up generating significant impacts on the achievement of material equality between genders.
The concept known as "Pink Tax" refers to an economic variation in which products and services intended for women are priced higher than those intended for men, even when they have minimal differences, such as just the color pink.
This is not a tax, nor a fee, but a value embedded in the products, which impacts consumption by directly affecting the female public through an additional price.
It is evident that this practice violates important constitutional principles that reject discrimination of any kind, as well as international treaties that guarantee the dignity of all.
In the Brazilian context, the discussion about the pink tax gains special relevance given the centrality of consumption as the basis for revenue collection in the tax system and the historical economic inequalities that affect women. Furthermore, when analyzed from the perspective of women's health—especially menstrual health—this issue becomes even more sensitive, as it involves access to goods essential to human dignity.
2. Practical Development
Lana Borges Câmara, a Federal Attorney, co-creator and co-founder of the "Taxes for Women" Movement, as well as a member of the Taxation and Gender Group at FGV-SP and Women in Tax (WIT), developed a specific analysis on the topic "Pink tax and taxation: repercussions on women's health ," in which she examines the effects of consumption taxation and discriminatory pricing practices on the realization of women's fundamental rights, especially in the area of health.
The author argues that the analysis of the pink tax cannot be dissociated from the structure of the Brazilian tax system, particularly the centrality of consumption taxation and its regressive nature. According to the perspective developed, although the pink tax does not constitute a tax in the technical sense, its economic effects broaden the tax base for indirect taxes, causing women to disproportionately bear the tax burden embedded in the prices of goods and services essential to their daily lives.
In this context, Lana Borges Câmara highlights that the taxation levied on menstrual health products—historically classified as non-essential goods—reveals a serious dissonance between the tax system and constitutional values. Menstruation, as a biological phenomenon inherent to the female condition, imposes specific needs that cannot be treated as discretionary consumption choices.
Maintaining a high tax burden on sanitary pads and related items, coupled with inflated market prices targeting women, compromises access to basic hygiene, health, and dignity, especially for women in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability.
3. Constitutional Basis and the Violation of Equality
The practice of Pink Tax, especially in its tax-related aspect, directly confronts the Brazilian constitutional framework, which is based on the dignity of the human person (Article 1, III, of the Federal Constitution of 88) and the pursuit of equality and the eradication of social and regional inequalities (Article 3, III and IV, of the Federal Constitution of 88).
The principle of equality (Article 5, caput, of the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 88) requires that the law treat equals equally and unequals unequally, to the extent of their inequalities. In the tax field, this principle unfolds into the principle of ability to pay (Article 145, §1, of the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 88) and the principle of selectivity (Article 153, §3, I, of the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 88).
The high taxation on menstrual hygiene products, which are unequivocally essential to the health and dignity of menstruating people, disregards the principle of selectivity, which dictates that the tax should be inversely proportional to the essentiality of the product.
By classifying and taxing these items as non-essential or even luxury goods (luxury tax), as occurs in some international contexts, the Brazilian tax system imposes a disproportionate burden on a segment of the population that is already economically vulnerable.
As pointed out by Lana Borges Câmara, the Pink Tax and the Tampon Tax exacerbate gender inequality, since women's average income is historically lower and consumption is heavily taxed in Brazil, resulting in a heavier tax burden for women. The high taxation on these basic items, with average rates reaching approximately 27,25%, transforms a biological need into a financial burden that affects health, education (causing school dropout) and dignity, constituting a violation of human rights, as recognized by the United Nations (UN) and UNICEF.
The analysis suggests that incorporating a gender perspective into taxation is not an exceptional or merely political measure, but a legal and constitutional requirement stemming from the Brazilian State's commitment to fiscal justice.
The review of taxation on menstrual health products, as well as the recognition of the unequal impacts of consumption taxation on women, represent necessary steps towards aligning the tax system with the principles of substantive equality, ability to pay, and protection of the minimum subsistence level.
4. Practical Development: Tax Reform and the Gender Perspective
The tax reform agenda, embodied in Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023, has brought the applicability of a gender perspective to the design and evaluation of tax policies to the center of the legal and fiscal debate. Although the stated objective of the reform is primarily to simplify the system, rationalize revenue collection, and redistribute the tax burden more equitably, its effects extend beyond the merely technical level, reaching the realization of fundamental rights and the promotion of substantive equality.
In this context, the inclusion of basic menstrual health care products in the list of goods eligible for preferential tax treatment stands out as a relevant regulatory advancement. Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023, in its Article 9, § 1, VI, initially provided for the application of a reduced rate of 60% of the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS) and the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) for such products, recognizing, albeit initially, their social and sanitary relevance.
The legislative debate, however, has evolved significantly at the sub-constitutional level. Complementary Bill No. 68/2024, responsible for regulating the tax reform, advanced by establishing a zero rate for the IBS and CBS taxes levied on the supply of basic menstrual health care products, as provided for in its articles 138, IV, and 142. This legislative option represents a true turning point in the legal and tax treatment of these goods, definitively removing them from the category of superfluous consumption.
This regulatory change constitutes a significant milestone in Brazilian Tax Law for multiple reasons. First, it reflects the explicit recognition of the essential nature of these products, giving effect to the principle of tax selectivity and the concept of menstrual dignity, which is increasingly consolidated in the legal and constitutional spheres. By setting the tax rates to zero, the legislator promotes coherence between fiscal policy and the protection of human dignity.
Secondly, the measure has a direct impact on addressing social and gender inequalities by mitigating the regressive effects of consumption taxes. Considering that lower-income women spend a proportionally larger share of their income on essential goods, exempting these products from taxes contributes to reducing structural asymmetries and protecting the minimum subsistence level.
Finally, it is important to highlight that Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023 innovated by establishing, in its Article 9, § 11, that the evaluation of tax measures must consider their impacts on promoting equality between men and women. This is a provision of unequivocal normative density, which imposes on the legislator and the interpreter of Tax Law the incorporation of the gender perspective as a mandatory legal criterion in the formulation, application, and control of fiscal policies.
In this way, the tax reform inaugurates a new interpretative paradigm, in which the formal neutrality of taxation gives way to the material analysis of its social effects, consolidating gender equality as a relevant constitutional vector in the shaping of the national tax system.
Conclusion
The Pink Tax and the Tampon Tax are concrete manifestations of gender inequality that perpetuate themselves in the market and the tax system. The overpricing and high taxation on feminine products, especially those related to menstrual health, violate fundamental constitutional principles such as equality, ability to pay, and human dignity.
The approval of Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023 and the advancement of regulation through PLP No. 68/2024, with the provision for a zero tax rate for basic menstrual health care products, represent a fundamental step in the pursuit of gender-based tax justice.
This measure not only corrects a historical distortion that disproportionately burdened women, but also formally incorporates a gender perspective into Brazilian tax law. The duty to assess the impact of tax regulations on equality between men and women, as stipulated in the Constitutional Amendment, establishes a new paradigm, requiring the tax authorities and legislators to act proactively in combating inequalities.
The tax reform, by promoting the exemption of items essential to menstrual dignity from taxes, demonstrates that the simplification and efficiency of the system can and should go hand in hand with the promotion of equality and social justice.
References
BRAZIL. Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil of 1988. Brasília, DF: Presidency of the Republic, 1988.
BRAZIL. Constitutional Amendment No. 132, of December 20, 2023. Amends the National Tax System and provides other measures. Official Gazette of the Union: Brasília, DF, Dec. 21, 2023.
BRAZIL. Complementary Law Project No. 68 of 2024. Establishes the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS), the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS), and provides for the regulation of tax reform. Brasília, DF, 2024.
CÂMARA, Lana Borges. Pink tax and taxation: repercussions on women's health . Initiatives of the Tributos a Elas movement and the Taxation and Gender Group (FGV-SP) , within the scope of Women in Tax (WIT) . Discussion on gender inequality, consumption taxation and impacts on women's health.
FERREIRA, Lívia; ABRAHAM, Marcus. Progress of reform on basic menstrual health care . Consultor Jurídico , August 16, 2024. Opinion article in the tax area that analyzes the incorporation of the gender perspective in tax reform and the confrontation of the tampon tax.
NASCIMENTO, Emanuelle Izabel Dantas do; ARAUJO, Luisa Petla Lustoza. Pink tax: gender inequality in consumption taxation . JOTA – Women in Tax Brazil , August 2, 2024. Critical analysis of consumption taxation from the perspective of gender equality and constitutional tax principles.
PINK TAX: Why do women pay more than men for the same services? An exploratory study in the five largest metropolitan regions of Brazil. Katálysis Journal , v. 27, 2024. Empirical study analyzing gender-based price discrimination in the service sector in Brazil. Available in the SciELO database.
