
Germany: Luxury goods tax on tampons 19%, book tax 9%, book of tampons sells out - dchs
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/21/no-luxury-book-containing-tampons-is-runaway-hit
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weinzierl
19% is the regular value added tax in Germany. Almost everything is taxed at
that rate. Luxury tax is a thing but not in Germany. There is no luxury tax in
Germany. There are a very few exceptions for some goods that are taxed at a
lower rate. These are by and large basic necessities, public transport and
copyrighted works. Books are one example of the last category, but books also
have a mandatory fixed book price [1], so their price is not determined by
supply and demand.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price)

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gshdg
I think the point is that feminine hygiene products are also a necessity and
should be taxed as such.

~~~
weinzierl
That _should_ be the point and it would be something hopefully most people
would agree with. In reality the whole debate is about a presumed luxury tax
applied to the disadvantage of women.

The most revealing thing about this debate is how no one seems to question the
point about the luxury tax. It seems that most people here have no idea that
they pay 19% on almost everything even if it is stated on every receipt.

