Female Politicians Propose to Cut VAT on Menstrual Products to 5%

Bratislava, September 26 (TASR) - MP Martina Holeckova (independent) proposed to cut VAT tax on menstrual products to 5 percent, as menstrual poverty impacts particularly single mothers, TASR learnt from Holeckova's press conference on Thursday. "The government is going to ratchet up prices of everything and for everyone because it's incapable of saving on itself. Then there's the talk about decreasing VAT on basic foods. I fully agree with this. However, just as bread is a fundamental foodstuff, menstrual products pose an essential need for women. That's why I propose to cut VAT on menstrual products to 5 percent. We must finally stop ignoring the problem called menstrual poverty," emphasised Holeckova. According to a survey conducted by NMS agency in May, up to 44 percent of women in Slovakia have at least once in their lives faced a situation of being unable to afford menstrual products. This problem most often befalls single mothers. MP Anezka Skopova ('Slovakia' party) added that women should never be forced to choose whether to buy hygienic products or something for their household instead. The VAT cut is not just a matter of fairness but also of social justice and in line with the directive of the EU Council, which puts menstrual products in a product category with lowered VAT products, she added. Jana Zitnanska of non-parliamentary 'Democrats' party pointed to a foreign study, which found out that a woman pays €3,800 on average for pads and tampons throughout her life. "Neighbouring countries have considerably lower VAT rate on these hygienic products, for instance, Poland 5 percent, Croatia 7 percent, Austria 10 percent and Italy 5 percent. There are even non-EU countries with 0 percent VAT tax on this," she said. mf/mcs