Currently in Australia sanitary pads and tampons are sold with a 10 percent GST (goods and services tax) because the products have been categorized as items that aren’t essential. The female population of Australia has been outraged as products such as sunscreen and condoms are exempt of the tax while female hygiene products aren’t.
However on Wednesday the state and federal government agreed that the levy will be removed. The minister for Women of Australia, Kelly O’Dwyer, told Sky News Australia that everyone is very delighted to see that the tax had been scrapped in what she was calling an unfair motive. She also mentioned that women all across the nation of Australia will be very thankful for the hard work that they have put in over the last 18 years.
What has been known widely as the “tampon tax”, the levy was placed on female hygiene products in 2000 when the GST was introduced. With the levy now removed, many protestors have taken to social media to show their joy and appreciation for all of those who participated.
The federal government had brought on the decision as state and territories had reported an estimated fall in taxable revenue. While the decision has been overruled this year, a petition was signed by more than 90,000 Australians in 2015 where the campaigners had also made a rap video to appeal to the wider public.
Australia should see the price of female hygiene products reduce starting the 1st of January 2019.
