Finally we will have 5% VAT on sanitary napkins. After many years of lagging behind other European countries, Italy is also joining the reduction of the so-called “tampon taxThere has been talk for some time about women’s hygiene products being taxed as luxury items rather than necessities. The Draghi government then turned things around by abolishing the much-discussed 22% VAT and pushing it up to 10%. Now the Meloni government is winding down and goes one step further by cutting taxes in half.
Yesterday the budget bill was approved by the Meloni government and a reduction was introduced to the normal VAT rate on menstrual pads as well as baby essentials such as diapers, baby bottles and baby food, even these were still taxed at 22% . The government’s idea is to meet with families advocating price cuts on certain fixed-consumption products. As explains Sun 24 hours according to the calculations in the technical report attached to the budget law for 2022, with VAT of 22%, the average cost of sanitary napkins for a woman was about 70 euros per year. Including 10% VAT, it has decreased to 63 euros and now, with a further reduction, it will be about 60 euros. However, these costs are closely related to personal choice, tampons used and the intensity of the menstrual cycle, and for this reason they can vary.
In any case, the 5% VAT represents a small achievement in the field of equality, achieved after many years of work by associations organizing information campaigns on this issue throughout Italy. An example was Tampon tax tour Associations It is our turn, who in 2021 traveled across Italy region by region to collectively rethink the very concept of well-being, equality and the right to health. In Italy, there have been several attempts in recent years to reduce the tax on sanitary napkins, starting in 2016 with Possibile’s first proposal. However, cultural changes were needed. which started from afar and has arrived until today. Now look at Scotland, which has been providing free access to sanitary pads since 2020.
Source: Elle