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Is it reasonable for the state to collect an additional 25 percent in taxes on products that only women use? Writes Annette Linander and Sofia Jarl, Center Party.
Free menstrual protection is as obvious as offering free toilet paper in the same places, reasoned one of the advocates in Scotland, who recently became the first in the world to offer free menstrual protection.
This is a discussion post. Writers are responsible for opinions.
Scotland recently became the first in the world to offer free menstrual protection. From now on, public toilets, including those in schools and universities, offer free sanitary products for girls and women. It’s as obvious as offering free toilet paper in the same places, reasoned one of the proponents.
According to a survey According to Plan International (2017), around 10% of all girls in the UK cannot afford menstrual protection.
The vision of medical devices reveals the vision of society on gender equality. Sanitary products are necessary for women and are not a voluntary option. However, the VAT for menstrual protection in Sweden is 25 percent. We think it should be scrapped.
VAT, the value added tax, is a state tax on consumption. Most of the things that people buy in a normal grocery store are subject to VAT. In Sweden, the normal tax rate is only 25 percent. This therefore applies to sanitary products and hygiene articles.
Since 2016, EU member states can decide on their own country’s VAT rate on hygiene items, something that has led France, for example, to reduce VAT on menstrual protection to 5.5 percent. In the US, many hygiene items have been VAT-free for a period and now so are sanitary products. Seven US states have eliminated VAT for, among other things, sanitary napkins. The reason was that it is wrong for women to have to pay taxes for something they have to buy. That’s exactly it. Women have no other choice. During her lifetime, a woman menstruates for a total of seven to eight years. Every day, about 800 million women on earth menstruate.
According to the organization Mensen – forum for menstration, menstruating people in Sweden should spend between 15,000 and 70,000 SEK on menstrual protection during their lifetime, depending on the type of product and the abundance of the period. There are still large pay gaps between women and men in Sweden. So is it reasonable for the state to collect an additional 25 percent in taxes on products used exclusively by women?
It is also It is not reasonable that menstrual protection is subject to the highest VAT rate in Sweden. Those who go to a restaurant pay a tax rate of 12 percent. Anyone with a personal trainer pays 6 percent.
The tax rate for medical devices is also high in Germany (19 percent). The German company The Female Company, which sells hygiene products, decided to demonstrate the unreasonableness of health products being subject to high taxes while other products pay less tax. The company evaded taxes by wrapping its tampons in a book, with 7 percent in taxes, while at the same time taking the opportunity to argue against tax discrimination.
Since EU member states now determine their own country’s VAT rate on hygiene items, the Swedish Parliament should test whether it is possible to set it to 0 percent. Medical care and dentistry are already VAT free in Sweden. Therefore, we urge all members of the Riksdag, regardless of party, to support the elimination of the menstrual VAT. It’s about economic equality.
Wear menstrual protection It is a question of hygiene and of being able to be an active citizen and to function in everyday life, at school, at work or socially, regardless of age. It should not be a socio-economic issue that girls and women feel safe moving around in society when they are menstruating.
Annette linander (C), regional council in Scania.
Sofia jarl (C), president of the Women’s Center.
Also read Debate on current issues: this is how it’s done
