Sex is cheaper in Britain
2006-06-30 21:15
London - It will be cheaper to make love in Britain from Saturday, thanks to a reduction in sales tax on condoms.
On Friday, the British treasury announced that the value added tax (VAT) on condoms and other non-presciption contraceptive products would be 5%, rather than the standard 17.5%, "leading to immediate reductions in the prices paid by consumers".
"Safe sex has never been cheaper," said public health minister Caroline Flint.
She added, however, that couples still bore the responsibility for halting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Reduced VAT for condoms was promised in Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's budget three months ago.
Birth control pills and other prescription contraceptives are sold without any sales tax in Britain.