On 26 October 2015, British MP’s rejected The Finance Bill by 305 votes to 287; the consequences of which are that in the UK, sanitary products will continue to be classed as a ‘non-essential luxury item’ and thus women will continue to pay 5% VAT on these essential products.
Passing the Finance Bill would have opened up negotiations with the EU about the so called ‘tampon tax’ which has been around since 1973.
The tax is a clear demonstration of the consequences of the male dominance apparent in the British Parliament, and highlights the general ignorance of males towards menstruation. Mentioning our period in front of males is not something us girls generally do. This is because of the ‘period taboo’ that makes women feel ashamed about their monthly ‘luxury’.
When was the last time you saw a woman in a public place, whip a tampon out of her bag and march across the room towards the bathroom? Never! This is because we hide our menstruating ways from men and the outside world- it’s not as if a period is a clear sign of a healthy female body or anything.
Laura Coryton (21) started a petition at change.org soon after the vote, which has so far gained over 250,000 signatures. She believes that the tax “has no relevance in the 21st century” and her petition has forced the Treasury minster to raise the issue with the European Commission.
Laura has been told that her petition is a lost cause as the decision to abolish the tax must be made at EU level, which requires consent of all 28 states. However Laura sees this attitude as offensive and believes that just because it will be hard to change the tax doesn’t mean they should stop trying. With support from other political party’s such as the Scottish National Party and the Lib Dems, it is clear we won’t be saying goodbye to our hopes for non-taxed tampons just yet.
To put it into perspective, here are a few items that are not subject to VAT for “non-essential luxury items”
Alligator steaks…
Helicopters…
Tunnocks Tea Cakes…
Other items include Jaffa Cakes, Pitta Bread and Flapjacks… very essential!
If you’d like to join the campaign then log on to https://www.change.org/p/george-osborne-stop-taxing-periods-period to stop taxing periods. Period.