Sustainable toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap has launched its latest campaign, calling on the government to “scrap the roll tax”.
Launched yesterday (20 February) it calls on the government to scrap the 20% VAT surcharge added to toilet roll.
The brand is sharing a petition and open letter calling on the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to scrap the tax, and has driven a van in front of parliament with the words “VAT on toilet roll? The cheek of it” accompanied by a provocative image.
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The petition on Change.Org reads “In total the UK spends about £2.78 billion on toilet roll a year, with each consumer using 127 rolls annually. The VAT on this brings in £463 million to the exchequer, equal to just 0.05% of total tax receipts”.
“Whilst this is pennies to the government, this has a much greater impact on UK households and disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in society”
“Amidst the cost-of-living crisis, 3 in 5 UK adults admit to having cut back to be able to afford essential household purchases”.
“Scrapping the roll tax could give hard-pressed consumers five days of household gas and electricity, a month of fresh fruit and vegetables or six days of petrol and diesel”.
The campaign follows on from research which has revealed that 70% of the British public is unaware that VAT is charged on toilet roll, while caviar, helicopters and marshmallows are all VAT-free. The research also found that 87% of Brits think this is unfair, particularly given that four in five Brits consider toilet roll an essential part of their shop.
Who Gives A Crap is known for raising a stir, with the brand’s initial launch publicised by a stunt which saw founder Simon Griffiths sit on a toilet for fifty hours straight.
Recent endeavours from the brand include a Winnie The Pooh book to raise awareness of deforestation, after research revealed that over half of children worry about the issue.
