Tampon tax axed

STATES and territories across Australia have agreed to remove the goods and services tax (GST) from sanitary products, and the Greens are taking credit for keeping the issue alive.

The GST was applied to tampons and pads when the former Coalition federal government introduced the tax in 1999, which was highly controversial at the time.

Several attempts to make the sanitary items exempt were unsuccessful in the following years.

However, last week, at a meeting of Australia’s state and federal treasurers, there was universal agreement that the so called “tampon tax” should be lifted.

Australian Greens Senator Janet Rice, who introduced a bill to exclude sanitary items from the GST that passed the Senate in June, said the decision was “a win for people-powered campaigns”

“This is a huge win for all Australians who menstruate and shows the power of grassroots movements when we work together.

“I’m so pleased that finally, both major parties have listened to the huge groundswell of Australians who knew from the start how sexist and unfair this tax was.

“This unfair tax on sanitary products should never have existed in the first place, especially when other items like condoms and Viagra were not taxed.

“A huge thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have campaigned, protested, signed petitions and
contacted their representatives in parliament over so many years.”

She said the Greens had been leading the charge in the parliament to axe the tampon tax since it was introduced.

“I’m pleased the major parties have finally came on board, especially since both Labor and the Coalition voted against the Greens amendments to axe the tax in 2017, and the Coalition voted against my bill to axe the tax in June.”

Earlier this year, Labor changed its policy to agreeing to remove the GST on pads and tampons if it won government, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison committed in August that the tax would be lifted at the next treasurers’ meeting.