Controversial news for Turkish women: Is the new tax cut from 18% to 8% on feminine hygiene products a real success or a total disappointment?

1-04-2022

Idil Igdir

Women’s Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence. 

After years of struggle of Turkish women and organizations and the demand of many MPs to reduce the 18% tax on feminine hygiene products in Turkey, the semi-good news finally came on March 29, 2022. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the reduction of VAT*, Value-Added Tax, from 18% to 8% for the aforementioned products after the request made by Bendevi Palandoken, President of the Confederation of Turkish Merchants and Craftsmen (TESK), on March 26, 2022, on his Twitter account. However, this is not a complete victory, but only a partial one, due to the sharp rise in prices and the impact of inflation on almost all products in the country**. Thus, suffering from economic collapse, people demand access to essential products with zero taxes, not 8%.

Moreover, according to the latest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute, the price of feminine hygiene products has risen dramatically, by 92% in one year. Turkish women did therefore not find the new reduction sufficient in view of the current circumstances. Because in a country where the minimum wage costs 261.7 euros (4.250 TL), having to pay 4 to 6 euros for tampons and sanitary pads at least once or twice a month is a huge crisis for women.

* VTA “ is a consumption tax on goods and services that is levied at each stage of the supply chain where value is added, from initial production to the point of sale” (Investopedia, 2022). 

** The Turkish Statistical Institute announced that inflation increased by 54.44% in a single year. 

Sources and Further Reading : 

(2022, March 29). Bir yılda yüzde 92 zam geldi: 'Hijyenik ped başta olmak üzere temel insani ihtiyaçlarımız ücretsiz olsun. Gerçek Gündem. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.gercekgundem.com/guncel/333776/bir-yilda-yuzde-92-zam-geldi-hijyenik-ped-basta-olmak-uzere-temel-insani-ihtiyaclarimiz-ucretsiz-olsun

(2022, March 29). TESK Başkanı Palandöken: "Hijyen ürünlerindeki vergi indirimi talebimizin karşılık bulması sevindirici oldu. SonDakika. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.sondakika.com/ekonomi/haber-tesk-baskani-palandoken-hijyen-urunlerindeki-vergi-14827541/

Consumer Price. Central Bank of Turkish Republic. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/TR/TCMB+TR/Main+Menu/Istatistikler/Enflasyon+Verileri/Tuketici+Fiyatlari

The Investopedia Team. (2022, January 20). Value-Added Tax (VAT). Investopedia. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/valueaddedtax.asp