Fighting Against Australia's Tampon Tax

Australia's current tax system allows for certain essential products to be free from tax. Items like food, sunscreen, lubrication, condoms, and nicotine patches are all considered essential or health items under Australia's tax system and are free from tax. However, pads and tampons are not considered essential items or health items and have a 10% tax.

Subeta Vimalarajah has started a campaign to have pads and tampons be tax free. Her petition argues that pads and tampons are essential health items that women must buy. As such they should not be taxed because they are a necessity that women cannot go without, just like people cannot go without food. Her petition has about 90,000 signatures that call for the end of taxing a "bodily function" that women have no control over.

In light of the campaign and petition, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey is approaching state and territory governments to ask for tampons and pads to be excluded from tax. Each state and territory has their own tax codes so each state and territory must change their laws individually. The tax on tampons and pads was originally created under a conservative government in 2000, but the current government seems more open to revoking the tax on pads and tampons. The only major opposition to this campaign seems to be Australian Prime Minister TonyAbbott who claims "he understood why many people wanted to see an end to the tax, but that it was "certainly not something that this government has a plan to do"."

BBC News:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32879768

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32883598

- Jenn Hoffman