The tax on period pants is set to be axed from January in a major victory for campaigners
- The move to make the underwear ‘zero-rated’ is expected in Autumn statement
- It follows a campaign by retailers, women’s groups and environmentalists
The Government is set to scrap the tax on period pants in a major victory for campaigners.
The Chancellor is set to announce that the underwear – which are absorbent, washable and reusable – will be ‘zero-rated’ and no longer subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) from January.
The move is expected to be confirmed in tomorrow’s Autumn Statement, according to reports from the BBC.
It follows a campaign by retailers, women’s groups and environmentalists, who have urged the Government to ‘level the playing field between disposable and reusable period products’ and make period underwear ‘more accessible to more people’.
Although a ‘tampon tax’ on period products was removed in 2021, meaning that these items no longer incur VAT, menstrual underwear did not benefit from the change because it is classified as clothing.
‘Period pants’ look like regular underwear but use an absorbent material that soaks up blood
The Chancellor is set to announce that the underwear – which is absorbent, washable and reusable – will be ‘zero-rated’ and no longer subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) from January
The Chancellor is set to announce that the underwear – which is absorbent, washable and reusable – will be ‘zero-rated’ and no longer subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) from January.
‘Period pants’ look like regular underwear but use an absorbent material that soaks up blood. They are better for the environment and kinder on the wallet than single-use products such as tampons.
Retailers including Marks & Spencer were among around 50 signatories of a letter to the Treasury in August calling for the tax to be scrapped.
M&S and WUKA – a retailer which sells period underwear – say that their customers have paid £3million in VAT on the products since 2020.
The retailers have pledged to pass cost-savings on to customers immediately, should the tax be axed in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
M&S, which sells more than 6,000 packs of period pants a week, said the move would mean a three pack of period knickers currently priced at £20 would be able to be sold for £16.
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