Tampon tax will not apply in Australia anymore

After almost two decades of political wrangling Australia on Wednesday finally agreed to scrap its so-called "tampon tax". When Australia introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2000, health products such as condoms and sunscreen were exempt from the 10 percent charge, along with most foods.

But tampons and other women's hygiene products were not. Since then, the "tampon tax" has drawn widespread fire, branded as "sexist" by campaigners, and a regular source of bickering between Canberra, and state and territory governments, which receive revenues from the GST.

Australia's health minister in 2000 Michael Wooldridge set a dark trajectory for the tax when he suggested tampons should not be exempt as they did not "prevent illness". Leaders on both sides of politics flirted with the exemption, while others shied away, passing the buck onto state and territory governments. But on Wednesday a meeting of state and territory treasurers agreed unanimously to scrap the tax as of January, agreeing to forgo the revenue it raised.

$21.5m
Annual revenue the tampon tax brought in

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