Introduction
In 1966 the Beatles released their ‘Revolver’ album with the hit song of ‘Taxman’. Within the context of the song George Harrison articulated the excessive and unfair nature of taxation with “...If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street, If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat, If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet...” This song was written with the intention of protesting the excessive taxation by the United Kingdom’s Wilson government, which applied supertax (95% maximum rate) to high income earners. Taxation has always been a contentious issue, particularly who and what is taxed underpinned by various emotions. Movements harness these emotions to pursue a particular agenda to change or reform current government policy.
In the Australian context, activists have brought to our attention to a taxation and social inequality: tampons and sanitary napkins are subjected to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It is important to note that goods which are subjected to the GST are only exempt if they are fresh food items or ‘essential health items’ such as sunscreen and condoms. The issue activists have is that tampons and sanitary napkins are not classified as ‘essential health items’ and the state is financially penalising women for a natural biological occurrence. It is estimated over 10 million women …show more content…
Tampons and sanitary napkins should be viewed as an essential item for women and women should not be expected to pay a tax to use these products. The fourth wave of feminism entails a use of technology to fight inequality; certainly using social media with a tampon with a political message fits this rubric. Nevertheless, ‘Stop Taxing My Period’ seeks to give the voice from below and allows for grassroots involvement by allowing them to post comments on the issue at hand. Such comments have
In 1966 the Beatles released their ‘Revolver’ album with the hit song of ‘Taxman’. Within the context of the song George Harrison articulated the excessive and unfair nature of taxation with “...If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street, If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat, If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet...” This song was written with the intention of protesting the excessive taxation by the United Kingdom’s Wilson government, which applied supertax (95% maximum rate) to high income earners. Taxation has always been a contentious issue, particularly who and what is taxed underpinned by various emotions. Movements harness these emotions to pursue a particular agenda to change or reform current government policy.
In the Australian context, activists have brought to our attention to a taxation and social inequality: tampons and sanitary napkins are subjected to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It is important to note that goods which are subjected to the GST are only exempt if they are fresh food items or ‘essential health items’ such as sunscreen and condoms. The issue activists have is that tampons and sanitary napkins are not classified as ‘essential health items’ and the state is financially penalising women for a natural biological occurrence. It is estimated over 10 million women …show more content…
Tampons and sanitary napkins should be viewed as an essential item for women and women should not be expected to pay a tax to use these products. The fourth wave of feminism entails a use of technology to fight inequality; certainly using social media with a tampon with a political message fits this rubric. Nevertheless, ‘Stop Taxing My Period’ seeks to give the voice from below and allows for grassroots involvement by allowing them to post comments on the issue at hand. Such comments have