Liverpool bans sanitary tax on campus

Today is the first day that our guild has agreed to scrap sanitary tax on female sanitary items.

Currently, under tax regulations, tampons and sanitary towels are classed as “luxury items” taxes in the same way as alcohol and tobacco.

The decision will affect all sanitary products sold by the Guild.

History and Spanish student Katriana Bella began her quest to get rid of the tax a few months ago after sending a message through the Guild’s “Change It” scheme, which encouraged students to contribute ideas “with the intention of bettering our university experience”.

Guild Vice President Emma Sims then called Kat in for a meeting, where she tells us things got “really passionate” as they wrote up a proposal.

Not long after, Kat received an email from Emma letting her know their proposal had been successful, making today the first official day of a sanitary-tax-free campus.

These will now be cheaper

Kat told The Tab: “Paying tax on tampons, when items like Jaffa cakes are tax free, is ludicrous.

“Especially for students.

“It’s impossible to function in everyday life without sanitary products – they are essential, not luxurious, and should therefore be tax free if not completely free.”

Exeter banned the tax back in April

“It’s so important that other universities, and institutions, follow this example. Period.”

This move by the Guild comes after a petition calling for an end to a 5% tax on sanitary products  got more than 125,000 signatures back in January.

Exeter, Newcastle and York are all in various stages of changing the prices of their sanitary products.

But, because of EU rules, a nationwide change is unlikely to be successful.

Back in 2000, the VAT on tampons and sanitary towels was dropped from 17.5% to 5% after a campaign by Labour MP Dawn Primarolo.