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I'm Subeta, a 21 year old university student living in Sydney, and I'm sick of the government taxing my period. Because if there's one thing more inconvenient than getting a period every few weeks, it's being slapped with a 10% tax just because Aunty Flo is in town!

Since the GST was introduced in 2000, every Australian who gets their period - there's about 10 million of us - has been forced to pay a 10% tax on every tampon and sanitary pad purchase. This is because the government at the time classed our sanitary items as non essential and undeserving of the tax exemption. On the other hand, condoms, sunscreen, lubricant and nicotine patches (just to name a few) were deemed essential and as a result are all tax free today!

In this day and age, it's not right that Australia has a tax that financially discriminates based upon biology. Menstruating is a natural part of life for millions of Australians, and it's shocking there's a 10% tax placed on products that are necessary for our reproductive health.

But right now we have a once in a generation opportunity to remove this unfair GST. Treasurer Joe Hockey is calling for submissions to review the entire tax system; and a massive demonstration of public support could put the tampon tax on his agenda.

Please sign my petition now to repeal this fundamentally unfair and sexist tax!

Sanitary products allow people who menstruate to live comfortable, uninterrupted lives. They aren't luxuries or societal burdens, they're an unavoidable aspect of reproductive health! The government should support and facilitate the availability of these products, not actively restrict it.

Once you sign the petition and share it with your friends, you'll be directed to a page where you can make a quick submission to Treasurer Hockey's Tax Review. Until June 1, the government is accepting submissions from the public about how to make taxes fairer. By flooding the Tax Review with thousands of submissions, we can force the tampon tax into the spotlight and get rid of it once and for all.

Sign my petition and make a submission to tell Mr Hockey that reproductive health should not be taxed.

This tax disproportionately hits people who are often already disadvantaged; on average, women earn $262.50 per week less than male counterparts, and are statistically at greater risk of living below the poverty line. And let's not forget that your period doesn't stop when your cash flow does - for the menstruating homeless and unemployed, this tax hits even harder.

This upcoming tax review is our opportunity to get the tampon tax removed for good! We've been burdened with this tax for 15 years...now it's time for it to go!

Thanks for joining the campaign,
Subeta, a fellow GetUp member

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