The Tampon Tax Is Finally Going To Be Scrapped!
Pads and tampons are finally gonna get cheaper.
Great news for your Wednesday morning — the Australian government is finally going to scrap the tampon tax, for real this time.
All states and territories have now come to a decision to scrap the tax, after Greens Senator Janet Rice introduced a bill to axe the tax which passed the federal Senate in June. Prime Minister Scott Morrison finally got on board and committed to scrap the tax back in August, and at last all the pieces have come together to get it done. It’s about time — the decision comes after nearly two decades of community campaigning to get rid of the tax.
The so-called “tampon tax” is the name given to the 10 per cent GST on tampons and sanitary pads, which makes these products more expensive than they need to be (and they’re already pretty fucking expensive). People have been outraged about the tampon tax since it was first instituted in 2001, pointing out that it lumps an extra financial burden on the portion of the population who menstruate.
It’s especially unfair, too, given that most other health products are exempt from the GST, including condoms, lube and Viagra.
“Today’s decision to remove the GST from sanitary products after 18 years is a win for people-powered campaigns,” said Greens Senator Janet Rice this morning. “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.”
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg appeared on Sky News this morning to wrongly claim that “it was the Coalition government that put this issue on the agenda” — the Liberal Party has actually voted down previous bills to scrap the tampon tax, and is part of the reason it’s taken this long to get rid of.
More helpfully, Frydenberg also said that the tax will most likely be removed from products from January 1 2019. The full list of products that will now be exempt from the GST has yet to be released, but it will likely include tampons, pads, menstrual cups and other similar products.
We’ll update this post when we know more. For now, enjoy knowing that pretty soon, your next month’s supplies will be a slightly less painful purchase.