Daily Telegraph Editorial: The tampon tax punishes women for being women
The tax on feminine hygiene products has always been viewed as a penalty on women for being women. The decision to scrap this tax will be welcomed by women, but will come at a cost.
Opinion
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THE very first taxes levied in Australia were sin taxes, to use the modern phrase.
In order to fund early settlement infrastructure, taxes were placed on alcoholic drinks. Given the priorities of the day, those taxes paid for a prison.
Later came taxes on tobacco products. So the Australian taxation system had a punitive, social engineering aspect almost from the outset.
It wasn’t until the 1860s, when the US federal government sought ways to finance the Civil War, that someone came up with the bright idea of taxing money itself.
The first income tax was introduced in 1861, on incomes greater than $800, and remained in place throughout the war and seven years beyond it.
NSW followed that example in 1895. The first national income tax followed in 1915 (again to finance war, as it happens).
But there always remained an element of punishment in our tax structure, which is why so many people have campaigned so long for the removal of any taxes on feminine hygiene products.
Their argument is simple and powerful. Why should women be penalised simply because they are women?
And now the federal Coalition government has listened. Treasurer Scott Morrison has vowed to remove the GST from tampons, correctly noting it is time this “source of frustration” for women ended.
Moreover, the treasurer said the 10 per cent GST on tampons and pads should never have been applied in the first place.
“I can see it is a source of frustration and angst. Here’s a straightforward practical opportunity to deal with it once and for all,” Morrison told the Saturday Telegraph.
“I think it’s an anomaly that has been built into the system for a long time and the states have decided to hold onto the money instead of getting rid of it.”
The money involved is considerable. Taxes on feminine hygiene products annually raise around $30 million in GST revenue.
But this was always an issue that should have been viewed from another perspective. The tax represents $30 million taken from women every single year — again, simply because they are women.
“I’m happy to see this remedied and it shouldn’t be consuming an enormous amount of time,” Morrison said, ahead of an upcoming meeting with state treasurers. “It’s a fairly straightforward decision to make.”
That it is.
LIGHT RAIL PROJECT A SHOCKER
Sydney’s light rail project has caused widespread problems.
Many were foreseen. But others were not, adding further headaches for retailers and commuters.
Most of those issues are time-consuming or revenue-depleting. But for 15-year-old Newtown High School of the Performing Arts student Anna Lambden, construction of Sydney’s light rail system nearly ended her life. The teenager received a near-fatal electric shock due to a poorly installed electric wire at one light rail construction site. Hang in there, Sydney. This ordeal will be done with sooner or — more likely — later.
HOME BUYERS CAN SMILE
For prospective home buyers, it’s time to party like it’s 1989.
Not since Bob Hawke was prime minister and Australia’s population was below 17 million has Sydney’s property market seemed such a buyers’ paradise.
Property experts tip that only around 30 to 40 per cent of houses offered for auction this spring will actually sell, meaning we will have reached a similar period of auction inaction as existed nearly 30 years ago.
This also means potential bargains for wily buyers aiming to swoop on properties that are passed in.
“It will be a very good spring for home buyers,” according to SQM Research’s Louis Christopher. “Auction clearance rates are already very low and since spring usually sees a bounce in listings, it will mean the clearance rate will go even lower.”
So dust off your Roxette records and get into a 1989 mood. Buyers’ markets in Sydney are one of the rarest of property phenomena.
Take advantage of this one while the opportunity exists