FRANKFORT, Ky. — For weary parents rolling up their sleeves for around-the-clock diaper duty, a bill with bipartisan support in Kentucky would deliver tax relief when purchasing a necessity that adds up to a hefty expense.
The measure would exempt diapers from the state’s 6% sales tax. Senators from both parties have signed on as cosponsors, and the proposal received a hearty endorsement from the operator of a Kentucky diaper bank who says it goes to the heart of a harsh reality for some struggling families — cutting back on food and other expenses to keep their infants in fresh diapers or reusing disposable diapers.
“When people hear about this bill, it’s something they all understand,” Democratic Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in an interview Friday. “Anyone who has young children or young grandchildren understands that diapers are really expensive. They understand that several hundred dollars a month for a family with two kids in diapers is a huge expense and families need relief.”
With two young children of her own, Chambers Armstrong can relate to the frequent runs to the store to buy diapers. By waiving Kentucky’s sales tax for diaper purchases, families with infants or toddlers could save hundred of dollars each year, she said. The proposed exemption also would apply to adult diapers.
“It adds up over time,” Chambers Armstrong said of the savings. “It sounds small — 6% — but every penny counts when you’re counting pennies.”
The struggle to afford diapers is a growing problem, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. When families can’t afford a constant supply of clean diapers, their babies are more vulnerable to painful rashes and urinary tract infections and require more doctor visits, the group said. Parents risk missing work or school if they can’t afford the diapers required to leave their baby in child care, it said.
As of last summer, 26 states were charging sales tax on diapers, the…
Read the full article here
