By Jamar Knight on Tuesday, 15 March, 2022 at 03:01 PM

Yesterday’s budget proposal saw the removal of the value-added tax on feminine care products and critical care items.

Over the years, there have been calls to the Government, from various organisations such as the National Organisation of Women, to mitigate inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools such as sanitary napkins and tampons, by removing VAT on these items to make them more affordable for women and girls.

To that end, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that from the first of April 2022, all sanitary towels and tampons, baby, and adult diapers, anti-perspirants, vitamins, and multi-minerals would be zero-rated for value-added tax purposes.

Additionally, with the impact of chronic non-communicable diseases in Barbados, Prime Minister Mottley announced that some items used to help people to manage their chronic diseases would also be eligible for a tax reduction.

Former social worker, Valreta Phillips believes this was a long-overdue course of action. Phillips explained that it would be a boon to the young women who may come from disenfranchised households.

“Sometimes, children from lower-income households simply do not have access to these products. Sometimes children may leave institutions like a boarding home and need care packages of things like sanitary napkins simply because they can’t afford them. It affects them mentally. As a young lady, it can make you feel ashamed and disadvantaged. Hopefully, now this ease would allow those persons a sense of normalcy,” Phillips clarified.