Wednesday saw federal and state governments agree to remove a 10 percent goods and services tax, which had been implemented after tampons and sanitary pads were previously considered non-essential items.
“We’re really delighted that everyone’s come on board to scrap what is an unfair tax,” Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer told Sky News Australia.
“Millions of women right across the nation will be very thankful for it.”
The levy had been widely critcised since its introduction 18 years ago.
In 2015, more than 90,000 people signed a petition against the tax.
Predictably, many campaigners relished, questioned – and even poke fun at – the change on Twitter this week.
So, will tampons cost 10% less now?#auspol #tampontax
— Rachel Baker (@RachelBkr) October 3, 2018
I wonder if women will be compensated for the 18 years of tax they paid on tampons, now that Australian governments have uniformly acknowledged the bleeding obvious: they are not a luxury item #tampontax #auspol
— Luke Hennessy (@LSHennessy) October 3, 2018
Ladies, please remember that tampons and commercially produced pads are SINGLE USE ITEMS and are terrible for the environment. Cloth pads are washable and are not full of harmful chemicals and I think any woman who uses tampons is contributing to climate change. #tampontax
— William Lawson ?? (@WIlliamLawsonIV) October 3, 2018
Congratulations on the #tampontax victory.
End the #bratax now. Scrap the GST on brassieres.#DontTaxMyBreasts #youknowitmakessense— Chris Kenny (@chriskkenny) October 3, 2018
The #TamponTax has been scrapped.
What’s the bet prices don’t actually drop by the full GST amount…
— supercalifragilisticexpialicujo (@supercujo) October 3, 2018
