Mike Moffatt | The ‘tampon tax’ is gone, but the ‘tampon tariff’ lives on

Effective July 1^st, the federal government will remove the GST from products marketed for feminine hygiene purposes – better known as vetoing the “tampon tax.” However, there is confusion surrounding the notion that Canada still places import tariffs on these feminine products.

In an op-ed for Maclean’s, Assistant Professor Mike Moffatt analyzed the complicated realm of Canada’s tariff code, and reached out to manufacturers, customs brokers, the Department of Finance and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to get some clarification on these excessive tampon tariffs.

“Canada has killed one tampon tax, but there is still more work to do,” said Moffatt. “Canada’s tariff code contains a tampon tax that buries our importers in red tape and generates very little tax revenue.”