Tampons and VAT

Rise in VATThe recent rise in VAT (Value Added Tax) from 15% (originally 17.5%) to 20% made me wonder if the rumour I heard ages ago that VAT was charged on sanitary products (tampons, sanitary towels etc) was true. This is what I found out:

History
VAT on sanitary products used to exist at the general rate of 17.5%. Then, after several decades of campaigning, the chancellor at the time, Gordon Brown, in 2000 lowered their VAT to the reduced rate of 5%. Condoms and other contraceptives were later also changed from the full to the reduced rate in 2006 (1).

Change the name
Heating, and in fact most if not all forms of energy, including gas, electric and wind power are also charged at the reduced rate of 5% (2). I thought VAT was only meant to be charged on luxury items. Clearly this is not the case. Ideally, I wish they would rectify this, but at the very least change its name to something less misleading like Consumer Tax on buying most stuff.

Rules
So what makes something eligible for 0% VAT? There seems to be no hard and fast rule for this from my research on the internet. No theorem, no common theme which would enable a description with an explanation of why items would or would not be eligible to be given this status. Instead there just appears a list of Standard Rate, Reduced Rate and Zero Rated items. Somehow I feel like the government has just made it up as they went along. There should be a rule, and it should be something like:-

1) Items that are essential should pay 0% VAT
2) Basic but none essential items should pay reduced rate VAT at the very least
3) Luxury items sholuld pay full VAT


Back to sanitary products

Why do books have 0% VAT and tampons have 5%? How is it just that when I buy Jade Goody's autobiography - which may be interesting, but is definitely non essential it is VAT free, but if I bought a sanitary towel I would have to pay 5% of its cost to the government for the privallage? This is when the government does not contribute or subsidise their production. Nor does it loose out by the purchase of this product.

Comparisions
Incontinence pads are VAT free- rightly so. But in this case so should sanitary products. It is not acceptable, (although I hope people would be sympathetic) to pee on a seat, or your clothes in public, but neither in society is it deemed OK to menstruate on them. Is it time for a mass protest to the House of Commons, whereby those menstruating at the time wear light coloured, thin clothes and bleed all over the seats?

Fairness
The VAT of 5% may not add up to a lot in monetary terms, but it is deeply unfair to half the population and I feel it could be very easily rectified by the government.



So, in conclusion

1) what women are essentially doing is paying for the privallage for leaving the house when they are bleeding
2) Condoms are essential if you consider safe penetrative sex with a penis to be a basic human right. However, this, and the pill can be obtained for free from sexual heath clinics and/or the doctors
3) So Sanitary products should ideally be free, but at the very least VAT free.

References
1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/03/is_it_taxing_being_a_woman.html
2) http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm