By Oisin Sweeney • Published: 01 Jan 2021 • 20:59
The EU banned its member states from lowering "tampon tax" below 5% - Image Source: The Female Lead
BRITAIN has abolished its tax on menstrual products in one of the first acts of separation from the European Union.
In the European Union, sanitary products cannot be taxed at a rate of less than 5% because they are considered “luxury items”. Now Britain has followed other territories in removing all tax from sanitary items, according to an official government statement, taking effect on January 1st as Brexit is finalised.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that “sanitary products are essential, so it’s right that we do not charge VAT”. He added that the government has “already rolled out free sanitary products in schools, colleges, and hospitals and this commitment takes us another step closer to making them available and affordable for all women”.
In Scotland, sanitary products were made completely free in November, while Ireland is the only EU state where menstrual goods are exempt from VAT as there was no tax in place when the bloc made its minimum rate rule. In ten US states, sanitary products are also exempt from tax.
Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Britain Will No Longer Tax Menstrual Products”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.