Jersey to pay GST on period products

Chief minister deputy Kristina Moore spoke in the States Assembly about the GST

People will have to pay a 5% goods and services tax (GST) on tampons and other sanitary products in Jersey despite an earlier decision to abolish the charge.

Chief minister Kristina Moore had previously called for period products to be exempt before she was elected.

But the States of Jersey has voted to overturn its previous decision to remove the tax.

Deputy Montfort Tadier criticised the latest decision as "a U-turn of the first order".

GST is a 5% tax on the sales of goods and services supplied for local use in Jersey and also applies to imports.

The States previously approved Deputy Moore's proposition to remove GST on sanitary products in April 2022 but the government did not implement it.

At the latest vote, 25 members agreed to keep GST, while 21 were against.

Deputy Moore said there were now free products available for those who needed them at 14 locations across Jersey.

'Disrepute'

She said: "I accept that this government has not delivered on the decision to remove that 5% of the cost of period products.

"Instead, they are now available for free, and in an increasing number of public places."

Deputy Tadier, however, raised concerns about the move.

"This is a U-turn of the first order, it's actually this kind of thing which does bring the assembly into disrepute, when somebody says one thing before an election, and afterwards, they do something completely different."