Calls for tampon tax to be scrapped in Spain

MP Irene Montero has said the tax applied to sanitary products, nicknamed the “tampon tax”, has to be abolished in Spain. 

Montero is calling for the 5% tax applied to items such as pads, tampons, menstrual cups, diapers and other hygiene products for dependents to be scrapped

It is a controversial law because the VAT (value-added tax) that is applied to the sanitary items means they are classed as “luxury items” – a rule that has been called ‘sexist’ by many people.

Women’s rights campaigners have been fighting for years to put an end to the tax and earlier this year the UK was able to get rid of the ‘Pink tax’ because it is no longer subject to European Union rules on sanitary products due to Brexit. An EU directive meant the rate could not fall below 5% while the UK remained in the bloc’s customs union.

VAT on sanitary products has been levied at various rates since 1973.

Montero said: “The next Budget should be a Budget centered around the reconstruction of the country and feminism is key to that. We should not have another tax system that punishes women or the tasks they assume.

“Menstruating is not a choice and neither is it a choice that a baby uses diapers during their first years of life or that an older person also needs them.”