#EndPeriodTax

In 2014 Laura Coryton began the ‘Stop Taxing Periods, Period’ campaign in London, a petition which aimed to abolish high tax rates attached to period products in the UK. This tax was something bound by law, having been confirmed in the 1970s when an all-male government decided to include menstrual products in the ‘non-essential’ category of traded goods. This immediately classified them as a luxury item subject to standard VAT rates. 

After over 7 years of continued campaigning, including a government committee chaired by former MP Paula Sherriff and debates held in parliament, the tabloid-dubbed ‘Tampon Tax’ was abolished 1st January 2021 in the UK thanks to this campaign. Another influential factor to this was in fact Brexit. Whilst still a member of the EU, the UK had to abide by EU VAT law, which included taxes on menstrual goods.