For parents exhausted by the 24-hour diaper mandate, a bill with bipartisan support in Kentucky would provide tax relief on expensive essentials.
This measure would exempt diapers from the state's 6% sales tax. With senators from both parties signing on as co-sponsors, the proposal has the hearty support of Kentucky's diaper bank operators, and the proposal represents a harsh reality for some struggling families. The company said it is cutting back on food and other expenses needed to sustain life. The infant is using new diapers or reusing disposable diapers.
“When people hear about this bill, that's what everyone understands,” Democratic Sen. Cathy Chambers Armstrong, the bill's lead sponsor, said in an interview Friday. “Anyone who has young children or young grandchildren understands that diapers are very expensive. Hundreds of dollars a month is a huge expense for a family with two children in diapers. Yes, and the family understands that they need relief.”
Kentucky Republicans reintroduce bill to end odd-year elections
Chambers-Armstrong has two young children, so she can relate to frequent trips to the store to buy diapers. Exempting Kentucky sales tax on diaper purchases could save families with infants and young children hundreds of dollars each year, she said. The proposed exemption would also apply to adult diapers.
“It adds up over time,” Chambers-Armstrong said of the savings. “Six percent seems small, but when every penny counts, he counts every penny.”
According to the National Diaper Bank Network, the difficulty in purchasing diapers is becoming more acute. If families can't afford a constant supply of clean diapers, babies are more susceptible to painful rashes and urinary tract infections, requiring more doctor's visits, the organization said. Parents risk missing work or school if they can't afford the diapers needed to send their baby to daycare, the newspaper said.
Kentucky Sen. Cathy Chambers Armstrong is shown at her desk in the Kentucky Senate chamber, where she is spearheading a bipartisan bill that would exempt diapers from state sales tax. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner)
As of last summer, 26 states had sales taxes on diapers, according to the group. The diaper tax could be as low as 4% and as high as 7%. Children need at least 50 diaper changes a week.
Deanna Hornback, who runs a diaper bank in the Louisville area, said she has heard of families washing and taping up disposable diapers to continue using them. She called it an increasingly prevalent “silent need” and said passing the tax credit would bring much-needed relief to families.
“You're not just reaching out to poor families, you're actually reaching out to people who are between the cracks, who are struggling, or who are too proud to ask for help. ,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “So this bill is going to help everyone.”
In a Republican-dominated Congress, Chambers-Armstrong rose to prominence as a Democrat with ideas that resonated with his Republican colleagues. Republicans include Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, who is named as a co-sponsor of the bill.
“I think this is a really good bill,” Thayer said Friday. “We're Republicans. We're for lower taxes. Diapers are a necessity.”
Although this bill has received considerable attention, the actual path to enacting a sales tax exemption for diaper purchases is not yet clear. Because appropriations bills must begin in the House, Thayer said language from Chambers-Armstrong's proposal could accompany the House bill.
“It's a win no matter how you do it,” Chambers-Armstrong said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Applying the exemption to diaper purchases would generate an estimated $10 million a year in revenue for the Bluegrass State, but it would be paltry compared to existing sales tax exemptions for food and medicine, and Kentucky would This is a small amount given the huge budget secured due to the rapid increase in collections. .
Chambers-Armstrong believes her bill's projected fiscal impact would be too large, as Kentuckians would likely spend the savings from the diaper exemption on other family necessities.
Whatever the burden on the national exchequer, waiving the diaper tax would help ease the strain on household budgets, she said.
“When you have young children, buying diapers and paying for them is something you think about every day,” she says. “And we were lucky enough to be able to afford the diapers we needed. But when we had our first two children, we had so many expenses. For all the families out there who are struggling. “And think about what you can do to help them.” “
