With the recent surges in inflation, families with babies or older relatives might be struggling to afford the necessities needed. A new law passed by Gov. Hochul just made that a lot easier by taking away any local taxes on all types of diapers, whether for children or adults. New York State as a whole, already dropped the 4% sales tax, but local governments were still able to impose a tax, but not anymore. Additionally, some actions were taken by President Biden to alleviate the baby formula shortage issue faced by the U.S.
The Law
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that she has signed the “diaper initiative affordability for parents and elderly remedy act, or “DIAPER act”, into law. This diaper act makes “diapers intended for human use including, but not limited to, disposable, reusable, adult and children’s diapers” exempt from local sales tax. This tax break hopes to help ease the financial burden on families that need to purchase some of these essential products as they face rising costs due to inflation.
Baby Formula Assistance
On top of helping families with diapers, another big issue seen this year by families is a shortage in baby formula. Back in May, the U.S.’s typical baby formula stock was about 57% of the typical volume for the country. The Biden Administration recognized this issue and is currently addressing it by easing the process required to import baby formula, and more recently, suspending tariffs on formula.
In terms of easing restrictions on formulas, the FDA has stated it will not be reducing health and safety standards. The FDA instead will be more lenient on other technical requirements, such as formatting on labels. Past this, the FDA also said it will permit agents to use discretion if a foreign manufacturer doesn’t list ingredients in the order prescribed by FDA regulations.
More recently, President Biden signed legislation to suspend tariffs on imported formula until December 31, 2022, to lower the cost of formula at a time when families are struggling. This is a substantial change as tariffs placed on formula without a Free Trade Agreement increased consumer costs on Formula by about 27% on average.
Wrap Up
These changes will help a lot of families in need of support right now, especially as inflation continues to impact all Americans. Families now appear to be getting some relief to fight this, but will it be enough? We will continue to track any relief given to Americans to keep you informed!
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