Russell Howard demonstrates the absurdity of the tampon tax
'They’re tampons, they’re not Ferrero Rocher!'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The so-called tampon tax continues to cause disappointment and outrage in equal measures after MPs voted to make sure it isn’t scrapped anytime soon.
In the UK, a five per cent VAT rate reserved for non-essential items is also placed on menstrual products. This controversial taxation has dominated headlines in recent weeks after an amendment to the Finance Bill was tabled by the Labour MP Paula Sherriff.
Tampons and sanitary towels are a far cry from a luxury product, particularly while items such as Jaffa Cakes and exotic meats are considered 'essentials'. Yet MPs still voted against the amendment to scrap the tampon tax this week despite opposition to the tax from members of all of the main political parties.
The move was not well received by the politicians, women and men across the country who campaigned against the tax. Nor did it go down well with the comedian Russell Howard, who decided to spell out the ridiculousness of deeming sanitary products a luxury item rather more bluntly during his weekly show.
Why cutting tax credits and taxing tampons is bullshit
Posted by Russell Howard on Friday, 6 November 2015
“They’re tampons, they’re not Ferrero Rocher! It’s ridiculous! They’re not aspirational – you wouldn’t see Beyonce bragging about them.
“Do you know the absurd thing, you pay VAT on tampons because they’re a ‘luxury’ but you don’t pay VAT on things that are considered ‘essential’.
“Well here is a list of some of the things that the taxman thinks is essential more than tampons: helicopters; bingo; Twiglets; adult nappies; flapjacks; toffee apples; edible cake decorations; a ticket to the zoo and crocodile meat.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments