PROPOSALS to help end ‘period poverty’ by removing the sales tax on sanitary products – in line with everywhere else in the British Isles – have been lodged by the head of Scrutiny.
Senator Kristina Moore, who chairs the Scrutiny Liaison Panel, has lodged a proposition calling for the Treasury Minister to action the move, claiming that the application of GST on period products technically defines them as a ‘luxury item’.
Jersey is now the only place in the British Isles where these products are taxed, with the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Guernsey either recently removing such taxes or having never applied them in the first place.
The report accompanying the Senator’s proposition says that lower-income Islanders should not have to turn to charities to be able to afford menstrual sanitary items.
She said: ‘GST is levied on sales of goods and services in the Island.
‘However, there are some exemptions to this rule – medical supplies, for example, are exempt from GST. Menstrual products are not exempt – which means that they are considered a luxury item.
‘Periods are not opt-in. They are not something that is a choice – and they are not a luxury. At present there are charities that provide menstrual products in schools. However, women should not have to turn to charity to deal with period poverty.’
The proposition is due to be debated on 25 April.
