Germany: Luxury goods tax on tampons 19%, book tax 9%, book of tampons sells out

theguardian.com

4 pointsdchs4 comments

19% is the regular value added tax in Germany. Almost everything is taxed at that rate. Luxury tax is a thing but not in Germany. There is no luxury tax in Germany. There are a very few exceptions for some goods that are taxed at a lower rate. These are by and large basic necessities, public transport and copyrighted works. Books are one example of the last category, but books also have a mandatory fixed book price [1], so their price is not determined by supply and demand.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price

I think the point is that feminine hygiene products are also a necessity and should be taxed as such.

That should be the point and it would be something hopefully most people would agree with. In reality the whole debate is about a presumed luxury tax applied to the disadvantage of women.

The most revealing thing about this debate is how no one seems to question the point about the luxury tax. It seems that most people here have no idea that they pay 19% on almost everything even if it is stated on every receipt.

I would back one step further and ask if hygiene products get considered a necessity.

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