To not understand the issue with 'tampon tax'?

[QuackPorridgeBacon]

Here me out. I will admit I don't understand it much and any insight would be great. I don't see an issue with a tax though.

I understand that things like razors and alcohol jellies (?) aren't taxed and I can see why that is annoying. We also don't choose to have periods so I get that argument too. Aren't they nasty to dispose of though? Wouldn't the tax just be paying those who are sorting through it all and disposing of it appropriately? Or am I being seriously thick?

I know I could go and do a google search and probably find answers but honestly, I'd rather ask on here as I'm lazy.

I think reusable users should not try to impose their use as a panacea for all.I have used a moon cup but not pads(another shift worker) but when many of us get older these are totally inadequate.
I have to use mega tampons and pads changed hourly day one.I have to get up inthe night to change and sleep on an incorrect pad to reduce the staining of sheets.
I'm another who bulk buys when stuff is on offer, for my dd too.Also hate the scented ones they cause irritation.
I've noticed that sanpro items are being put in the food bank boxes in my local supermarket and have joined in.

Sorry, it was the passive aggressive 'stop asking questions to learn' that irritated me and I rose to the bait. Should have totally let it lie. As you were...

Razors aren't taxed?????. Wtf! I had no idea, how can that be fair?

Of course there is VAT on razors.

I don't know how many threads there have been about VAT on here but the same inaccuracies appear.

VAT is not a luxury tax- it is a consumer tax paid on most goods and services either at 5% or 20% although some are 0 rated or exempt , for example food, children's clothes and books. Food eaten in a restaurant has VAT on it.

There really is nothing the UK government can do about it beyond what they have already by applying the 5% charge.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Tesco are taking the VAT off Sanitary protection though

Tesco can't take VAT off the price what Tesco is doing is paying the VAT themselves. If a packet of tampons costs £1 net Tesco has to apply 5p VAT when it sells them so the gross price is £1.05. Tesco keeps £1 and pays 5p to the Inland Revenue. The gross price will remain £1.05 but Tesco will only take £1 from its customers, it will keep 95p and pay the 5p the customer would have paid.

Hotheadwheresthecoldbath Wed 23-Aug-17 00:10:24
"I think reusable users should not try to impose their use as a panacea for all"

THIS Why is not ok for a man to tell a woman what to do with her body yet ok for a woman to tell another woman what to do with her body?

I too use TENA because i have an overactive bladder. So i just use them for my periods too. And then i have to use the EXTRA PLUS.

TENA are more expensive but the Sainsburys own brand version is very good and a bit cheaper. The Superdrug version arent very soft though.

I also donate sanpro into the food bank box in my local Sainsburys. One of the workers there commented that i was the only customer they had seen do that.

I cannot get on with tampons or mooncups.

"why they would be classed under a luxury tax"

VAT isn't a luxury tax.

It doesn't matter how much the tax is, it is a tax that only effects women. That's the issue. They are an essential item and should be taxed at 0%

Also OP is clearly just being a GF...

I know I'm probably going to be roasted for this but I've always thought it strange that society lets the burden of the cost of menstruation fall solely to women, surely menstruation is a product of the way our species reproduces and that should be spread across both sexes.
If you can get free condoms you should be able to get free basic sanitary products.

Post-Brexit, we can set our own consumption tax and they can be zero rated or exempted as the government decrees.

The EU hasn't AKAIK even begun to actually discuss the measures required to remove it from the scope of VAT (or zero rate) despite the fine words when they said they'd look at it positively.

There get free condoms, because you get free coils, diaphragms, pills etc. Contraceptive services are free because of NHS policy, not because of which sex uses a particular device or medicine. (I think prescribed medicines and devices are outside the scope of VAT)

I'm not being goady. Just interested and thought I would ask. Thanks to all who commented I think I understand it more now.

And how do you expect a woman on a 12 hour shift with a commute to manage a reusable pad?

It's easy enough when you are in the routine. I work 10 hour shifts with a commute but found since using reusable, I actually bleed less. I change 3 times a day then twice a day near to end.

All pads irritate my skin, make me itch and create a nasty smell, despite two hourly changes. All that's gone with reusable.

I take old one off, put new one on, rinse out in cold water, pop it in the material keep bag then take them home and wash them.

I actually bleed less.

There is no scientific proof that women bleed less when wearing a washable pad.

There is no scientific proof that women bleed less when wearing a washable pad

I definitely notice less blood with a reusable. A lot less. Plus the clots are smaller and my whole period is less painful, less smelly and feel almost normal.

For me they have made a massive change but I dislike being told I'm wrong. I'm basing it on my own experience so I'm sharing that.

I never once claimed it was scientific but I know that where I can, I prefer as chemical free as I can get. For my own health and the environment.

How does someone rinse out reusable pads if they are using public / work toilets with communal sinks? In front of everyone? Doesn't blood get all over the sink where people are washing their hands?

I'm on the fence with this, but I'm also all for something like sanitary/hygiene products costing less.

Lots of mental health medication is fully chargeable, yet non MH ones aren't always in certain circumstances, when it comes to particular conditions etc That's correct, isn't it?

Yet MH medication is essential, in my eyes. Perhaps even more so than sanitary products (of the disposable variety).

I actually bleed less.

It's actually comments like this that put me off the whole washable pad culture. The mystical powers of cloth pads are unproven and it serves no one to claim unfounded "facts" and untruths

I was going to quote every post that implied that tax is anything to do with whether or not something was a luxury, to illustrate how pervasive this wrong belief was. Luckily I'd only copied three sentences when I realised the word had already occured 64 times in this thread.

The UK used to have a sales tax on luxury goods, this ended in 1973, when VAT was introduced.

Whether something should be subject to VAT has nothing to do with whether it is a luxury. So all discussion whether or not tampons are a luxury is completely irrelevant.

It shows the strength of inherited cultural beliefs that 44 years after the tax on luxury goods was abolished, people still think that's what they are paying when they pay VAT.

I'll be brief to be clear: there is no rule of any kind that says we are not supposed to pay VAT on luxuries.

I'll try again: there is no rule of any kind that say we are only supposed to pay VAT on luxuries.

There is no scientific proof that women bleed less when wearing a washable pad

But plenty of anecdotal evidence. I don't use reusables but I have tried to use basic unperfumed ones and I have seen a bit of a difference.

However, I am also peri-menpausal and my cycle is all over the place so I might just be losing less blood. But I've heard it from other people, so don't poo-poo it.

As for taxing throw-away sanpro but not reusables, please don't go down this route. It's bad enough that we get periods, that we'll then be pushed by the tax system into having to wash reusable pads as well. If you want to, fine. But very little of our waste comes from us, the vast majority comes from industry so lets get them to get their house in order before we ask women to deal with bloody pads. Same with nappies.

We have disposable loo roll for a reason.

VAT is applied to lots of things that, like tampons, are not strictly necessary, i.e. anything that would not lead to a human dying if they weren't able to have them. Gas, electricity, toothpaste, clothing (for adults) for example. You could get by without them, though might be very cold, unhygienic and get some strange looks.

I don't think sanitary products would be my number one choice for a product to have VAT removed, personally I think energy and clothing are closer to being necessities of modern life. But yes, it does seem unfair. I don't think it's a gender / discriminatory issue though.

But plenty of anecdotal evidence.

The plural of anecdote is not evidence.

It's actually comments like this that put me off the whole washable pad culture. The mystical powers of cloth pads are unproven and it serves no one to claim unfounded "facts" and untruths

That's absolutely not my problem that you won't try something new on a recommendation.

You make it sound likes it's a big conspiracy theory, as though it's a web of lies and inaccurate information.

Why would I benefit by saying I bleed less and find my periods better for my own health?!

Why do you find my experience so off putting?!