In case you missed it, tampons are a luxury. Because women are blessed with the wonder that is waking up to the Japanese flag every month, us lucky ladies pay the Australian government a cool $30 million in GST every year.
Now, it obviously goes without saying, condoms and lubricant are not luxury items, and are not taxed as such. Probably because men like them aloe-vera infused “2 in 1 play gel” that comes in an oddly phallic bottle is a goddamn necessity. Opposed to those stupid, unnecessary things that save hundreds of white couches (and jeans, and skirts, and train seats) every year, gel that makes you tingle in your special place is something the people of Australia simply cannot live without.
Ahem. Here are 25 other things that are every bit as luxurious as tampons.
- Stepping in a bathroom puddle with your socks on.
- Jarrod’s sunburn in Bachelor In Paradise.
- Posting a photo and promptly losing three followers on Instagram.
- Wearing your hair up for the billionth day in a row because you actually can’t remember the last time you washed it.
- Dandruff.
- Drinking passion pop.
- Getting a parking ticket.
- Being referred to as a “bird” or someone’s “misso”.
- Realising you have sweat patches.
- Not having Spotify Premium.
- Visiting any retail store at 11am on Boxing Day.
- Forgetting your coffee and then drinking a big, cold gulp.
- De-hairing the shower drain.
- The selection of men on Tinder.
- Conjunctivitis.
- Asthma.
- The pay gap.
- Dropping your phone in the toilet.
- Forgetting to pack your work shoes in your gym bag.
- Slime.
- Stepping on LEGO.
- Walking into the bed frame.
- Forgetting your sunglasses.
- Watching the slow, steady rise of a blind pimple on your chin.
- Having your period.
A genius man is suggesting we glue our vaginas shut to solve the whole ‘period problem’. The Mamamia Out Loud team discuss.
Top Comments
Just visit all the offices of the Parliamentarians that need to be swayed, and bleed on their couch. Simples.
Why would condoms and lubricant be considered for men only?
There is no such thing as an item being classed as a luxury in the GST Act (with one exception, luxury cars).
Are you saying that we should keep the 'tampon tax' or are you just trying to get comments?
No, but they have been classed as non-essential, which is ludicrous.
Also, no, they aren't considered for men only, the way I read that was that, because men use lubricant, unlike pad and tampons, the are, for some reason, exempt.
Agree with you. They're actually classed as "non essential" which is still ridiculous.
I've got the Act in front of me, there is no mention of 'non-essential'.
Either items are subject to GST or they are exempt.
Calling something essential would not mean they should be exempt, though the arguments for exempting them are certainly valid.
There are many things that both sexes use, some are subject to GST some aren't. I don't get the argument (I do get what you are saying though).