Treasurer moves to axe the tampon tax

SCRAPPING the tax on tampons and sanitary pads is in the coalition’s sights after Treasurer Scott Morrison pledged to exempt the items from the GST.

Mr Morrison will seek to move female sanitary items to the essential health items exempted from the GST at his next meeting with state treasurers, The Courier-Mail reported.

“I can see it is a source of frustration and angst,” Mr Morrison said. “I think it’s an anomaly that has been built into the system for a long time and the states have decided to hold on to the money instead of getting rid of it.”

The move comes after years of lobbying for change from advocates who point to the unfairness in items like condoms and lubricants already being exempt. But the move requires the sign-off of states and territories to come into effect.

A 2015 push to axe the tax by then-treasurer Joe Hockey was knocked back by state treasurers reluctant to sacrifice the $30 million in revenue it produced. Mr Morrison said the 10 per cent tax should never have been levied at tampons and sanitary pads in the first place.

“I’m happy to see this remedied and it shouldn’t be consuming an enormous amount of time, it’s a fairly straightforward decision to make,” he said. His decision comes three months after Labor made a similar pledge. “This is effectively a tax on women,” Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek said in April.

“Taxing periods is taxing women in a way that men never experience.”