When she was a girl, Carolina Caballero was attracted to everything that was pink.
“It became an obsession, everything had to be pink or pastel. I remember asking my mom to buy me pink folders for school and pink dresses,” she recalls.
Today he barely uses it. “It was a transition that I didn’t realize. I guess I grew up. Then, when I started college and started working with the advocacy group, I was shocked by the difference in price between items that are sold with a strong gender focus,” she told the magazine. voice of america this economics student at the University of Guadalajara.
“The products for women, all pink and brightly colored, cost more just because they were, in quotes, feminine. Suddenly pink didn’t seem so pretty to me anymore,” she added.
In Latin America, where the gender gap is large and economic policies are designed almost entirely without taking into account the salary difference between men and women, in many cases women are forced to pay more for items than little or nothing they differ from those with the “for men” tagline.
Essential items are no exception.
“When I discovered that the full percentage of VAT was applied to the sanitary pads, I was very surprised. We did not realize it, but they were charging us more for a product that we have no choice but to buy,” complained Caballero, who celebrated with hundreds of colleagues when Mexico decided to apply the “zero rate” to menstrual hygiene items from January 2022.
The tax on the “luxury” of being a woman
Colombian researcher Natalia Moreno published in 2020 an extensive study about what she and her two colleagues Aris Balbuena and Catalina Rubilar have called “sexist taxes”, within a generalized tax policy that ignores inequality and discriminates based on biological differences.
For Moreno, in the Latin American region, poverty is “feminized.”
“In Latin America, being a woman means working more. Women do not receive remuneration for domestic work and unpaid work. It also means earning less for the same work and also having to pay taxes on products that require consumption by women due to biological conditions such as menstruation, “she explained in an interview with the VOA.
taxing them would be putting a tax on women for the fact of being women”
“Most Latin American countries continue to finance themselves through sexist policies, that is, they charge taxes on menstruation protection items such as towels, tampons, among others. There is no other reason why women consume these items than for the fact of being women and menstruating, so taxing them would be putting a tax on women for the fact of being women”, emphasized the economist and master in studies of gender.
The research by Moreno, Balbuena and Rubilar analyzes the situation in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. At that time, among the countries studied, only Colombia had applied the “zero rate” to menstrual hygiene products, the first to do so in Latin America.
Argentina and Uruguay led the list with 21% and 22% VAT. They were followed by Chile, with 19%, along with Peru and the Dominican Republic, with 18%. The most “worrying” thing for Moreno is that in all these cases the maximum tax rate was applied, which means that “they are interpreted as luxury items.”
“That is why we say that menstruation is a luxury for governments since, although they could have preferential rates or eliminate them completely, as we have proposed, they do not do so. Imposing the maximum rate of VAT is, in our opinion, unacceptable”, he emphasized.
From saying to doing…
In little less than three years after the study was published, although in some countries the situation remains the same, Moreno acknowledges that in others there has been progress in eliminating VAT on menstrual hygiene products such as pads and tampons. Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador have eliminated the tax through legislation, while in Chile progress is being made in the discussions.
“This is positive, especially because it puts in the public debate that tax policies may or may not have gender biases. In my opinion, that is a great gain, given that economic policy also exercises gender violence against women,” insisted Moreno, who advocates the total elimination of price as “the ideal” to guarantee access to products and the elimination of stigmas around menstruation.
In this, the former Peruvian congresswoman Arlette Contreras agrees, one of the visible faces of the “Ni Una Menos” movement in Peru, who presented a bill in July 2020 in Parliament that sought to guarantee universal, equal and free access to articles menstrual hygiene for girls, adolescents and adult women.
In an interview with the VOAContreras explained that the proposal was born from the realization that the purchase of these essential products generates for menstruating people “a different cost to their economy that does not happen with men”, in addition to the fact that “it also generates a detriment or taboo in the country,” he said.
The former parliamentarian opened the debate on what essential products should be delivered free of charge and universally, in addition to promoting “menstrual education” for girls and adolescents in private educational institutions to try to remove stigma and health campaigns at the institutional level. .
“For all this process is not the same and it is quite complicated,” he noted.
We see that the State guarantees the distribution of other products that are not highly needed”
“The Government made observations to the initial project that, finally, came out as one of cut menstrual management. The original proposal even included that menstrual products be eco-friendly so that they take care of and preserve the environment because it generates a lot of pollution with the use, for example, of disposable sanitary towels, which are not the most suitable for the caring for women,” said the activist, who added that she also focused on women in situations of extreme poverty.
The law was approved on March 8, 2021, however, Contreras assures that it has not been executed or implemented by the Government due to a lack of interest in the subject.
The Ombudsman’s Office in Peru issued a statement on the importance of having a public policy for managing menstrual hygiene, for which it requested the prompt approval of the guidelines that make the law effective. In addition, it requested that universal, equal and progressive access to menstrual management products for girls, adolescents and adult women in vulnerable situations be declared of national interest.
“Despite the cuts, some measures can be implemented, as they did in other countries that deliver menstrual products free of charge or the withdrawal of taxes is being promoted. We see that the State guarantees the distribution of other products that are not highly needed (…) But this is so important because more than 50% of the population is female in this country, because it should be of interest and priority of the Peruvian State” Contreras stressed.
Tax reforms, yes, but no?
In Ecuador, according to official forecasts, after the application at the beginning of the year of the tax reform that eliminated VAT on items such as tampons and sanitary pads, women have saved millions of dollars in just over 9 months.
“We estimate that between 30 and 45 million dollars was what the State was expected to collect as a result of this tax on feminine hygiene products. This is the amount that is estimated to be left in the pockets of Ecuadorians, ”she specified to the VOA the director of the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), Francisco Briones.
We estimate that between 30 and 45 million dollars was what the State was expected to collect as a result of this tax on feminine hygiene products. This is the amount that is estimated to be left in the pockets of Ecuadorian women.
The economist recalled that this law is one of President Guillermo Lasso’s campaign promises and is designed to “be able to guarantee this type of hygiene supply for women”, especially those who are in a disadvantaged situation.
“When this is analyzed by socioeconomic strata, access to this hygiene item is practically limited, and the quality of life of these women is affected. Thinking of improving access to this type of product, VAT was eliminated in order to reduce the price and [que] in this way they are a little more affordable”, he explained to the VOA.
For the economist, it is relevant that Ecuador “has been a pioneer in Latin America in this type of measure aimed at improving the quality of life of women, particularly those who are in situations of poverty, especially in rural areas, where they have to suffer”.
In theory, the Lasso administration sees a significant improvement, but in practice, the reality is different, he told the VOA Ruth Lazo, who has been selling wholesale basic necessities to small businesses in Quito for years.
“When there were rumors that this law was coming, the prices of baby diapers and sanitary napkins, specifically sanitary napkins, started to go up. When the law came, they lowered it and it practically stayed the same as it was before. On paper let’s say that VAT is not paid, but really the price was what it was before VAT,” said the merchant.
Veloz drew attention to the fact that the daily protectors, “highly recommended by gynecologists”, are not included in this tax reform, therefore, taxes continue to be paid for them. He also recalled that, at the beginning of applying the law, its correct implementation was part of the daily debate. “Not so much now,” he admitted.
“We forget about things. At the beginning when all the people talked about this reform, that VAT was not going to be paid on sanitary napkins and diapers for children, people were very attentive, they knew that before they paid a dollar and now they had to charge less, people claimed . But today people don’t even remember, they don’t even complain anymore. They pay the dollar, which is a very popular price for a sanitary pad,” he added.
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