TLTP
LONDON
Britain abolished the “tampon tax” on Friday, with a zero rate of VAT applied to women’s sanitary products from midnight, as the government implemented one of its first legislative changes since exiting the European Union (EU).
With the UK no longer subject to the EU VAT directive, it now has the freedom to drop the mandated 5 percent tax on all sanitary products. The move is part of a wider government initiative to end “period poverty” in Britain, which includes supplying free sanitary products in schools, colleges and hospitals.
“Sanitary products are essential so it’s right that we do not charge VAT,” said UK finance minister Rishi Sunak on Friday.
“We have already rolled out free sanitary products in schools, colleges and hospitals, and this commitment takes us another step closer to making them available and affordable for all women.”
Period poverty, a collective term used to describe the inability to afford or procure sanitary supplies, is often associated with poorer countries, but women in wealthier nations can also struggle to buy them.
In the UK, the average woman spends about £4,800 ($6,556) on the products over her lifetime, according to a 2018 study commissioned by menstrual cup brand Intimina, an amount that rises for people with medical conditions such as endometriosis.
Period poverty can cause girls and women to miss school or work due to embarrassment over not being able to afford protection.
Some countries have already scrapped the tax, including Kenya which was the first to make the move in 2004, followed by Australia, Canada and Ireland.
However, many nations still tax period products, with some even treating them as luxury goods and applying similar tax rates to those on cigarettes, alcohol, and jewellery.
The 2020 tax rate on menstrual products was 27 per cent in Hungary, 25 per cent in Sweden, and 16 per cent in Mexico. In the US, 30 states levy a sales tax on tampons and pads, according to advocacy group Period Equity.
Mr Sunak first pledged to cut the tampon tax in his March 2020 budget, a move only made possible by the end of the Brexit transition period on Thursday and the UK securing freedom from the EU law mandating VAT on sanitary products.
Last year, free period products were rolled out to all state schools and colleges in England, Scotland and Wales, and were made available to all NHS patients.
The government also set up the Tampon Tax Fund in 2015 to allocate money generated from VAT on sanitary products to projects supporting vulnerable women and girls.
Scotland went a step further in November when it made products such as tampons and sanitary pads freely available to anyone who needs them. Local governments must ensure free supplies are provided in public buildings such as libraries and recreation centres.
