Marks & Spencer calls on government to cut VAT on period underwear following abolition of the ‘tampon tax’

• The retailer says its customers have paid £3m in VAT on the product since 2020
• It has penned an open letter to the Treasury to urge them to scrap the tax  

Marks & Spencer has urged ministers to axe VAT on period underwear, following on from the abolition of the so-called ‘tampon tax’ two years ago.

Scrapping the 20 per cent rate on the items would help households struggling against a painful cost of living crisis, the retailer said.

It has penned an open letter to the Treasury alongside more than 50 signatories, from cross-party politicians to charities including the Football Association.

‘Period pants’ look like regular underwear but use an absorbent material that soaks up discharges. They are better for the environment and kinder on the wallet than single-use products such as tampons.

Although a ‘tampon tax’ on period products was removed in 2021, menstrual underwear did not benefit from the change because it is classified as clothing.

This means that ‘anyone who wants to use a more sustainable product when they are on their period pays a premium for doing so,’ the letter claims.

M&S and WUKA – a retailer which sells period underwear – say that their customers have paid £3million in VAT on the products since 2020

‘Period pants’ look like regular underwear but use an absorbent material that soaks up discharges (Pictured: Image from WUKA period underwear advert)

Backers of the ‘Pants to the Tax’ campaign are urging the Government to ‘level the playing field between disposable and reusable period products’ and make period underwear ‘more accessible to more people’.

M&S and WUKA – a retailer which sells period underwear – say that their customers have paid £3million in VAT on the products since 2020.

The retailers have pledged to pass cost-savings on to customers immediately, should the tax be axed in the upcoming Autumn Budget.

M&S, which sells more than 6,000 packs of period pants a week, said the move would mean a three pack of period knickers currently priced at £20 would be able to be sold for £16.

The letter has been backed by charities including women’s health organisation Wellbeing of Women and environmental groups including the Marine Conservation Society and A Plastic Planet.

Laura Charles, lingerie director at M&S, said: ‘As the UK’s biggest knicker retailer, we want to do something about the VAT that our customers pay on period pants.

‘Over the past few years, our customers have paid over £1.5million in tax but if this tax is removed, we can pass the entirety of the cost saving onto our customers.’

Selaine Saxby, Conservative MP for North Devon, a signatory of the letter, said: ‘It’s just not right in my mind that women trying to reduce their impact on the environment pay tax on their more environmentally friendly period products, whereas those using disposable ones do not.’

Prior to then-chancellor Rishi Sunak abolishing the ‘tampon tax’, menstrual products were defined as luxury items and taxed at a 5 per cent VAT-rate

A Treasury spokesman last night said: ‘We are committed to making sanitary products affordable and available to all who need them. That is why we have delivered on our promise to scrap the tampon tax so that VAT is no longer charged on sanitary products, such as pads, tampons and reusable menstrual products such as menstrual cups.

‘We have also rolled out free sanitary products in schools, colleges and hospitals to continue our fight to end period poverty once and for all.’

The relief brought by slashing the ‘tampon tax’ is understood to exclude garments as the government thinks it could be difficult to police the scope of the tax break.

But some period pants specifically designed for children under the age of 14 years old may be eligible for the zero VAT-rate, under existing rules.

Prior to then-chancellor Rishi Sunak abolishing the ‘tampon tax’, menstrual products were defined as luxury items and taxed at a 5 per cent VAT-rate.

When he announced the tax would be ditched in March 2020, Sunak said: ‘Sanitary products are essential so it’s right that we do not charge VAT.’

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