#TamponTaxDeal: British MPs and MEPs welcome UK's tampon tax deal

The so-called Tampon Tax on British sanitary products will be scrapped after European Union leaders agreed on allowing a zero VAT rating on these products at the European Summit in Brussels. On 17 March, all 28 EU leaders agreed to a statement welcoming “the intention of the Commission to include proposals for increased flexibility for member states with respect to reduced rates of VAT, which will provide the option to member states of VAT zero-rating sanitary products”.

This deal has been welcomed by European politicians, among them British Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, who said: "The government heard people's anger over paying the tampon tax loud and clear". He also added: "With the deal we've now achieved what no British government has even tried to achieve. This just shows how Britain can make a case for a reform that will benefit millions as a powerful, confident voice inside a reformed EU."

The issue was first raised in March last year by British Conservative MEPs who questioned why the EU Commission had not zero-rated the products.

Now that the tax will be scrapped, West Midlands MEP and Conservative Consumer Affairs spokesman Daniel Dalton (pictured) has also welcomed the news.

Dalton said: “These products are essentials and not luxuries and never should have had VAT imposed on them in first place, common sense has prevailed. Also, this should be the start of a much wider reform of VAT as there are other areas where the full rate of VAT shouldn't be applied, including energy saving products.”

At the European Council summit in Brussels this week, the 28 EU leaders had agreed on the VAT deal. Though on the one hand it's a success, it has also led to a critique of UK Prime Minister David Cameron. While other leaders tried to work out solutions for the refugee crisis, Cameron succeeded in scrapping the tax on sanitary products.

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