In the article “Illinois lawmakers want to cut tax on diapers, baby wipes” by Jessie Hellman published on February 6th 2015, lawmakers are considering trying to help out parents of infants and young toddlers by taking off the tax for diapers. Because these items are necessary for babies, just like food and medication are, lawmakers believe it is unethical to tax them as highly as unnecessary items. An average family spends up to $100 per month per child on diapers and wipes. This decrease in tax would also cost Illinois millions of dollars, on the other hand. But babies health may be at risk if this tax cut is not put into effect, because low income families sometimes keep their children in a diaper longer than they should.
I never thought of the tax on diapers and wipes adding so much to the overall cost, but when someone buys a lot of an item, every penny counts. While I am concerned over the cost of losing the money collected from the taxes on those products, especially given the fragile state of our economy, I also believe it is unethical to put our cost concerns over the health and comfort of babies and little children. I hope the lawmakers can come to an agreement on this topic to make things better for everyone.
What does utilitarianism say about this?
What other essential items deserve a tax cut?
Should all baby items have a tax cut?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-diaper-tax-20150206-story.html
I agree with your and the author's view on taxing diapers to be unethical. Baby products, especially diapers, are very expensive and they are necessary for raising a child. While it may cause some problems with losing money from those products, I think it is way more important to lower the cost for everyone. It will make it easier on families who don't have that much money and are working on a tight budget.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this article and how baby's essentials should have a tax cut. It is already expensive enough to raise kids, and the taxes are adding on. It would make it a lot easier on low income families and teen moms. If the government is worried about losing a lot of tax money, they should higher tax on things that are necessary at all, such a cigarettes and alcohol. I think that not only baby products should have a tax cut, but also all necessities should have a tax cut to help people with low incomes out. Tax should be brought up on products that are necessary and you'd be able to live without.
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