“Obvious” classification – Greens call for tax cuts on contraceptives

“Our world is made by men for men, also in fiscal policy,” said Disoski, who wants to know from the parliamentary question whether the department head plans to reintroduce the VAT exemption for long-term contraceptives. She cannot and will not accept that women and girls are structurally disadvantaged by the tax system in their health care and “restricted in their reproductive rights”.

Disoski describes the different tax classification of three drugs that affect “reproductive health” and family planning as “particularly egregious”: “Nobody can explain to me why the reduced tax rate of ten percent applies to potency-enhancing drugs like Viagra and the costs are deductible of the tax, that of the contraceptive pill or Mifegyne, the medical abortion pill, but not.” Brunner urgently needs to change that.

Sales tax exemption required
The Green politician also finds it incomprehensible that contraceptives, such as the pill or the IUD, fall under the VAT rate for medical devices. They would be equated with plasters, fever thermometers or nursing beds and taxed at 20 percent sales tax. She cannot understand why these are not classified as medicines and are therefore taxed at ten percent. It would be best for them to be exempt from sales tax anyway.

Abortion “punished” for tax purposes
The women’s spokeswoman sees a similar problem with the unequal taxation of artificial insemination or abortions: “Although artificial insemination is tax deductible, that is not the case with abortion.” Having children is therefore tax-advantaged, while preventing or terminating a pregnancy is tax-deductible: “This blatant unequal treatment is purely ideologically justified and leads to unfair taxation of unwanted pregnant women.”