Bagbin criticises Akufo-Addo for failing to withdraw taxes on sanitary pads

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has taken a swipe at the government for failing to withdraw the taxes on sanitary pads in the mid-year budget review.

The Speaker had earlier urged the government to take advantage of the mid-year budget review to scrap the taxes on sanitary pads, but that was not captured in the presentation by the Finance Minister on Monday.

Alban Bagbin reacted to the matter on the floor of Parliament when the Member of Parliament for Sefwi Akontombra, Alex Tetteh Djornobuah in his debate sought to justify the imposition of the taxes.

The Speaker called on the government and future governments to scrap taxes on sanitary pads.

“On the issue of sanitary pads, the government should rethink about it. Because the taxes are not only imported ones, even the locally produced ones are taxed. The businesses met me two days ago, [and told me that] even the raw materials are taxed. They were complaining about production, to the extent that some of them folded up. This is something that I take seriously. Don’t let us miss the point, I will not tax a woman, my mother for producing me. I don’t support that at all, so the state must take this matter seriously.”

“There are countries where it is for free, there are countries where a lot of taxes have been removed. That is an issue I’m very passionate about, to all governments that will come, we can do without it. How much do we make from this taxation? We like taxing the poor, we are not taxing the rich”.

Many stakeholders have called on the government to scrap the taxes on sanitary pads.