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Lawmakers Refile Tax Break For Diapers

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
LibreShot.com, WMFE
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Florida lawmakers once again are being asked to consider a sales-tax exemption for diapers and incontinence products. 

Orlando Democratic Rep. Amy Mercado on Thursday filed a proposal (HB 87) for the 2020 session, which will start in January.

State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, has filed an identical measure (SB 54). The proposals would exempt diapers, incontinence undergarments, incontinence pads and incontinence liners from sales taxes.

Book’s bill has already been assigned to hearings in three Senate committees. Book and Mercado backed the idea in the 2019 session, with the proposal clearing two Senate committees and for a time considered for inclusion in a tax relief package.

During debate on her proposal this spring, Book, the mother of twin toddlers, called a tax break on diapers a way to help young families.

“Once their children age out of diapers, 90 percent of families say they use that money for food,” Book said in April.