Page 47 - Katherine Ryan press pack 2015-20
P. 47
A comedian has explained just how stupid the tampon tax is on the latest
episode of Have I Got News for You.
Female comedian Katherine Ryan, making a guest appearance with Grayson
Perry on the weekly show, expressed her disgust over the House of
Common’s decision to maintain the five per cent tax on sanitary products,
claiming they were a luxury item.
Ms Ryan, who lives in London but is originally from Canada, called the
government’s decision “ridiculous”. Here’s a clip of Ms Ryan explaining just
how ridiculous it is:
“It’s insane that this should be taxed,” she goes on to say. “It is dehumanising
to call it a luxury item.”
She adds: “There are not a lot of period jokes for the same reason there are
not a lot of leukaemia jokes. It’s just too sad.”
Despite opposition from Labour, independent and Liberal Democrat MPs, the
government managed to defeat a bill to drop the VAT charge on sanitary
products in the Commons this week.
The vote was met with dismay by campaigners, who point out items such as
Jaffa Cakes are exempt from VAT as they are deemed “essential” rather than
“luxury” items.
