Starting July 1, feminine hygiene products will no longer be subject to Canada’s five percent “Goods and Services” tax (GST), thanks to a petition signed by nearly 75,000 Canadians. The petition’s author, Jill Piebiak, pointed out that it’s offensive for the Canadian government to designate a menstrual hygiene product as a “nonessential item” or a “luxury good.”
New Democratic Party (NDP) politician Irene Mathyssen introduced legislation to make the change. She said in a statement, “The women who made this an issue, their voices have finally been heard. Finally, the government has listened to reason and put an end to this injustice. That is a victory for all women.” Preach.
This is all good news, but Canadian women aren’t completely out of the woods yet. Officials may have removed the unfair 5% tax last month, but according to Canadian Business there's still a set of import tariffs on these items. The tariffs have been greatly criticized for burying importers in red tape and generating very little tax revenue for the Canadian federal government. Many Canadians are now using the “tampon tax” issue as an opportunity to clean up Canada’s antiquated and unnecessarily complicated tariff regime.
Images via Change.org and Vice
Read more on Bust.com
Reasons There Shouldn't Be A Tax On Tampons
3 Surprising Facts about the History of Tampons
No Tampon? No Problem. Thinx Underwear Is Made For Your Period Days
Olivia’s first sentence was “No talk, just laugh” and since then, she’s made it her business to find the humorous side of life and share her absurd observations with others. She’s a writer, a lover of all things pop culture, and she can’t fall asleep without having 30 Rock on in the background. If you like looking at pictures of food and random dogs, you should check out Olivia’s Instagram.
