RISHI Sunak will today finally abolish the Tampon Tax in his first bumper budget.
The Chancellor’s move comes with the Tories delivering immediately on their election promises.
He will scrap the five per cent VAT rate on all sanitary products.
This will save the average woman almost £40 over their lifetime – with a tax cut of 7p on a pack of 20 tampons and 5p on a pack of 12 pads.
The campaign to scrap the “tampon tax” included a Change.org online petition which began in 2014.
It was signed by more than 300,000 supporters.
The reduction was finally made possible by Brexit , as under EU law the Government has been forced to levy a sales tax on the vital items.
Boris Johnson demanded the policy after telling his new chancellor to include as many pledges as possible in his first financial blueprint for the nation.
Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre charity welcomed the announcement.
She said: “Congratulations to all the women who campaigned so long for this ridiculous and unfair tax to be removed.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will axe the five per cent VAT rate on all sanitary products
A Tory Cabinet minister said: “We’re going to do what we said we were going to do.”
Scrapping the tax will cut the cost of a pack of 20 tampons by 7p, and a pack of 12 pads by 5p.
The new levy will come into force on January 1, 2021.
