Oh happy day! It’s official ladies and gentlemen. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has vowed to axe the tax on tampons. This means that the GST will be removed from all sanitary products and that’s great news for our bank accounts ladies with the price of our little mates set to drop by 10%. HUZZAH!
Mr. Morrison admitted that the tax should’ve never been applied to these necessary products stating that, “I can see it is a source of frustration and angst. Here's a straightforward practical opportunity to deal with it once and for all".
He further told News Corp, “I think it's an anomaly that has been built into the system for a long time and the states have decided to hold onto the money instead of getting rid of it”. We couldn’t agree more Mr. Morrison.
The tampon tax has been a much-discussed issue since the creation of the GST in 2001 by then Prime Minister John Howard. Widely thought to be a sexist tax, items such as condoms, lubricant and even Viagra remained tax exempt and free from the GST. The fact that these items for men are deemed as essentials and therefore tax free, while pads and tampons that women have no choice but to use when they menstruate every month have been subject to tax has drawn critiques nation wide and even started the ‘axe the tax’ movement.
The removal of the GST from sanitary products is said to be on the agenda for the next meeting of the state treasurers, later in the year. Watch this space!
Words by Alicia Franceschini