'Tampon Tax' full list of MPs who voted against lowering the rate

[cricketballs]

interesting link which shows the list of MPs who voted against cutting VAT on sanitary products. Interesting to see its only conservatives and includes female MPs

"Would a 20% difference really be noticed as there are wild differences in cost anyway depending on brand?"

5%, not 20%

Actually they should be free.

Free! Really?
Paid for by the taxpayer?

What about razors for men?

Should they be free too?

Toilet paper?
Free too perhaps?
After all, I can't help having to shit twice a day.
I'd save a load of money.

Good idea. Who should pay for that? Hmm?

I have just emailed my local MP asking why he voted against this.

Not surprised to see my MP on that list, he's a pleb-hating prick.

"Essential" is sod all to do with VAT rating. It's a consumption tax.

The (inaccurate) tabloid rhetoric at the time of UK EU accession has cast a long shadow and gas no advanced understanding of the nature of EU taxation.

My MP is also on the list.

Anyone have any idea why a woman of whatever political leaning would oppose this?

Gordon Brown was going to take VAT off sanitary productss. Was this yet another thing which did not happen?

"Would a 20% difference really be noticed as there are wild differences in cost anyway depending on brand?"

5%, not 20%

Working from the price you pay at the till, it's a 4.76% difference.

Excellent, mine voted against this and in favour of the tax cuts. He is a knob who does not live in the real world. Well, when one does have a millionaire heiress for a wife, life is rather different.

"Gordon Brown was going to take VAT off sanitary productss. Was this yet another thing which did not happen?"

Strictly speaking, yes. But he deserves credit, as it was on his watch that the rate was reduced to the minimum achievable without EU re-negotiation.

Anyone have any idea why a woman of whatever political leaning would oppose this?

Because she earns about £70,000 a year, and isn't too worried about saving less than £2?

I jest, I don't really have an answer to that.

Gordon Brown was going to take VAT off sanitary productss. Was this yet another thing which did not happen?

As posted above, it's very likely that he wasn't - the issue is the EU, not the UK.

moln, the EU ruling doesn't say that sanitary items can't be taxed at 0%.

AFAIK it says that anything taxed at 0% before joining the union can still be taxed at that rate. What governments can't do is reduce the tax on anything that was previously taxed to 0%. It's set a minimum tariff of 5%. Presumably there's a sound economic reason for not allowing them to do that.

Whilst it might have been very funny for the tories to have lost this vote and try to work out what they were going to do next, it wouldn't really have been very good for anyone.

WMittens yes I slipped up, you're right.

Think I'm slightly frustrated at the ill informed opinions on here. It's all a bit Daily Mail headline-like. I'm cringing at some of the posts.

Flumplet
Praps they might consider them a bit more essential if we all stopped using them and saw what would happen. Non essential my bloody arse!!

I think you might have misunderstood where they go

PMSL at WMittens

All females who voted against lowering the rate should be stopped from using sanitary products for a whole year they can bleed all over their nice furniture and cars and then see if they can manage to change their minds.

Now I understand that the tax couldn't be changed without the EU say so.
In that case why the hell did they bother with the vote in the first place then? If they couldn't do anything to change it then why bother?

Please read this article re the tampon tax before kicking off. There are many misconceptions about the do called 'tampon tax'.

• it's 20% tax - no it's 5%
• it costs me £922 in tax to be a menstruating woman - no it doesn't, the math is wrong. Unless you have ridiculously heavy periods or you are buying super expensive sanitary products
• the tories hate women and that is why they voted against it - no, this issue is bigger than tampons, it's about Labour using a woman's issue to stir the shit pot. whips were used by both parties.
• vat is a luxury tax - no, it's a consumption tax
• men don't have this gender tax - okay that one is true, but only because they are taxed more 29% on razors

Really there are bigger issues to be worried about - like toothpaste- you are likely to use more of it. Or car seats, that's a parents tax, a legal requirement, and because car seats cost more and you have to replace them, expensive too.

and puzzledandpissedoff you can't expect bamboo to mind read about these heinous crimes your mystery unidentified MP has committed.

Oops 20% on razors . stupid fat fingers from all those VAT free jaffa cakes

It is only 5%.
Razors are taxed at 20%.

there are more important things to lobby the EU about.

My female Tory mp is on the list. I knew she would be without needing to look. Before the last election I looked at a website that shows how MPs voted during the previous parliament and I realised quite how little she represents me. Thank fuck I didn't vote for her. Makes me feel ever so slightly better that I'm not responsible for her place in parliament.

technically the tax is 300% more on razors :)

This brings to mind that runner that was 'free bleeding' to raise awareness about sanitary conditions in developing countries. She was criticised on MN also as well as other sites, called an attention seeker and described as being disgusting.

Perhaps all women should rally around this and vow to go sanitry-less to prove a point. Obviously that would never happen but bears considering.