FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
COVID-19: The Dual Impact and Tax on Mothers, Girls and Babies’ Hygiene The Maryland Diaper Bank is Scheduled to Testify before the Maryland House Ways & Means Committee on Relief for Maryland Families Struggling with Diaper Need
WALDORF, Feb. 9, 2021 – Amplifying challenges faced by mothers struggling to provide basic hygiene products and sufficient diapers for their babies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland Diaper Bank Founder, Shelly Tucker, will testify in support of an income tax credit for up to $1,000 in donations for hygiene products, diapers, diapering essentials and monetary gifts to diaper banks and other charitable entities.
Tucker’s testimony will give voice to the compounding tax on motherhood women have grappled with for centuries – a burdensome tax that is weighing heavy on mothers, the population most severely impacted by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The burden of dual hygiene inequity creates a layered tax on motherhood and a financial burden on mothers not faced by other demographic populations,” said Tucker. “Struggling under pandemic imposed economic difficulties, mothers are leveraging already limited resources, and must choose between providing a sufficient supply of diapers for their babies and adequate feminine hygiene products for themselves and menstruation age female children.”
On average, infants require up to 12 diapers per day, at an estimated cost of up to $80 per month – per baby. Women, and girls of menstruation age, will spend more than $17,000 over their lifetime, or up to $300 per year, on menstruation products.
Tucker notes “There are no government safety-net programs that recognize diapers or feminine hygiene products as a basic need, though every baby needs diapers, and every woman and girl needs feminine hygiene products. While the federal Women, Infant, and Children’s (WIC) program provides subsidies for limited food, milk, and formula – it stops of covering the necessary hygiene necessities for the populations it was created to serve.”
Read Maryland Diaper Bank’s testimony HERE.
House Ways & Means Hearing (Virtual)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Committee: House Ways & Means (Maryland General Assembly)
YouTube Chanel Name: MGA – W&M
Legislation: HB0711 – Income Tax – Subtraction Modification – Donations to Diaper Banks and Other Charitable Entities (Cross-filled in Maryland Senate SB0622) –Delegate Dana Jones (D-30A)
About Maryland Diaper Bank
The Maryland Diaper Bank provides diapers and basic diapering essentials to stimulate health, growth, and good hygiene for babies in Maryland. To learn how you can support Maryland’s smallest neighbors with a monetary gift or to host a diaper drive, visit marylanddiaperbank.org/take-action.
You can also donate diapers through the Amazon Wishlist at http://a.co/gQVf7fK
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MEDIA CONTACT – LáVita Gardner, Lavita.Gardner@ExperienceArcht.com, (240) 812-9842