The elimination of VAT on tampons and sanitary napkins takes effect, Friday 1er January, in the United Kingdom, the government stressing that the measure is made possible by the country’s exit from the European Union (EU).
With the end of the transitional period following Brexit on January 31, the UK is no longer required by EU laws to impose a minimum 5% tax on hygienic products.
“I am proud that today we are keeping our promise to eliminate the stamp tax. Hygienic products are essential, so it is normal not to charge VAT ”Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who announced the measure in his budget in March, said in a statement.
During Wednesday debates in parliament on the post-Brexit trade deal, Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin stressed that the government “Will be able to do things like abolish the stamp tax, for which so many opposition MPs have criticized the government, just because we are leaving the EU”.
Free in Scotland
Felicia Willow, Executive Director of the Fawcett Society, a society for the defense of women’s rights, welcomed the change. “It’s been a long road to get there, but the sexist tax that saw hygiene products classified as luxury, non-essential items may finally be relegated to the history books.”, did she say.
The finance ministry had estimated that removing VAT would save a woman around 40 pounds (45 euros) over her lifetime. Periodic protections have already been distributed in public schools and universities in the UK for a year and to patients who need them in public hospitals. Scotland went further in November, with MPs passing a law allowing free access to sanitary protection, a world first on this scale.
#RulesNotSay, the project
France, Kenya, India, Sweden, South Korea, Germany or Burkina Faso. In a series of reports, we wanted to show how menstrual insecurity affects the most vulnerable women in the world.
What are we talking about, how many women are concerned, what public policies are being put in place when this subject has recently been placed on the political agenda in France?
Rules remain a subject that is little talked about in the public sphere. However, putting words on a taboo reduces the potentially devastating risks associated with ignorance and fantasies.
