Home > Legislation > Nevada NOW Testimony on SB211- Provides certain tax incentives for day care

Nevada NOW Testimony in Front of the Nevada Legislative Committee on Taxation
SB211- Provides certain tax incentives for day care

Thank you Chairman McGuiness.

For the record, my name is Jessica Brown and I am the president of the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women. Nevada NOW has 600 dues-paying members, and another 1,000 people who subscribe to our e-mail alerts and online newsletter. I am a volunteer, as are all NOW members in Nevada.

We have come today to urge support for this bill, because our members are concerned that working parents, especially working mothers, have the chance to work hard, to succeed in their careers, to contribute fully to their employers and to the Nevada economy. As the director of the National Association of Working Women put it recently, "We [want] to guarantee that being a good family member won't cost you your job."

That's why we're asking for the state to help employers provide childcare for their employees – so that companies won't suffer from employees' commitment to their children, and so that workers' families won't suffer from their commitment to their jobs.

According to Heather Boushey of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, working mothers today are only half as likely to leave the workforce because of their children as they were in 1984. (Source: "Are Women Dropping Out?" 2005) Simply put, most women don't have the option of choosing between work and family. Most women need to be in the workforce to maintain a middle-class standard of living for their families. And, although much of the discussion of this issue focuses on professional women, over 90% of women in the work force don't control their own work schedules - so without help from their employers, keeping a balance between work and family becomes an almost impossible goal (Source: National Association of Working Women.).

In essence, this is a pocketbook issue for working families, especially for working mothers. I urge you to support this legislation.

Melissa Clary, President of the Southern Nevada NOW chapter has come to read a selection of the letters sent to us from our members who feel strongly in favor of this legislation, but who could not be here due to their work schedules.

Kirsten Brink, a Public High School Teacher and a mother in Las Vegas writes:

Childcare expenses are quite difficult for most low to middle class families to afford.

When my child was young, I went to the government for help cover the expenses of childcare. We quickly found out that we would be better off if I quit one of my two jobs in order to get a childcare voucher-than it was to work two jobs. Not providing incentives for higher quality childcare encourages dependence on government and unemployment.

More business provided childcare will encourage mothers, particularly nursing mothers, to go back to work because her child is in close proximity. This business incentive would also boost the emotional family health as well as the GDP.

Paula Petruso of Las Vegas writes:

I support the bill to give tax credits to employers who provide childcare to their employees.

I worked in the Nevada Department of Human Resources and the Welfare Division for almost 30-years. Both as an office manager dealing with my own staff and as a public assistance supervisor helping low income families get on their feet, I learned that quality, affordable child care is a priority need for working parents.

I experienced problems myself when I went to work after a divorce in 1975. My child support award was $100 a month and my childcare cost was $130 a month. I was in the hole the day I started to work!

If our society values children, quality child care must be accessible. If we recognize the need for parents to work, childcare must be affordable. Employers are in an excellent position to help provide this essential care. They should be encouraged to do so with tax credits and other support.

Paula W. Petruso

Rita and Edward Ort of Las Vegas write:

We am sorry that we can not attend today’s meeting. However, we would like the State Senate Taxation Committee to consider the bill that gives tax credits to businesses that offer child care to employees. Over half of the states – 28 – have enacted employer tax credits. It's time for Nevada to do the same.

Rita & Edward Ort