Sanitary wear - not a luxury

[Naetha]

I'm very rarely one for posting things like this, but there's a petition to abolish the VAT on feminine sanitary wear. I know we don't use it at the moment, but its hardly a luxury! If you think VAT should be abolished on pads and tampons, then sign the petition here:

petitions.pm.gov.uk/notaluxury/

Remember you have to click the link in the email for it to work.

Brilliant I've been wondering about this for years, but never really got round to it LOL

Heard a rumour once that they were thinking of having pads available on the NHS or vouchers for really poor people to get them, it'd be a good way to go eh?! LOL

Hope they actually take notice of this one!!
finger's crossed

ive signed it

Done

I think VAT has already been removed - was done 2 or 3 years ago. It was headline news as Gordon didn't read it out as was too embarrassed in the House of Commons but it was included in the minutaie (sp) of the budget published.

It hasn't been removed - it was reduced from 17.5% to 8% several years ago though.

Even still, seems a bit excessive!

5% and VAT isn't really a luxury tax.

It's already been done, as far as it can be. It was cut to 5% in about 2000 (I know because I worked on that budget). Can't be cut further because VAT cannot be cut to zero on any new items (ie, items it's not already zero on) because of European rules.

Also, VAT is not a tax on luxuries. It is a tax on goods generally and there are a few exemptions which are now the exception rather than the rule (books and newspapers being the obvious example).

The reason we cannot cut individual taxes to zero now (before someone launches on an EU rant) is that it encourages governments not to compete with other governments on tax matters so that countries end up bidding down their tax rates on headline things like this and government tax takes are eroded and it ends up being a zero sum game or actually a negative sum game because public services go to pot in the mean time.

End of possibly the most boring post ever written on MN

It might be expensive for us but it is a major problem in Southern Africa - particularly Zimbabwe.

what did women do before pads and tampons existed?

i so dont care abotu this
nto an jot

Mrs Thatcher passed the legislation putting VAT on sanitary products, I believe. Nice.

Rags - up at least to World War II were the norm. That was back in the days of boiling your washing - they could then be reused.

signed

ooohhh - i've never noticed that it gives everyones names before!!!