(Radio Iowa) – A slate of bills advancing in the Iowa House would eliminate the state sales tax on everyday items like toilet paper and laundry detergent and extend a state tax credit for child care expenses to all Iowa households. House Speaker Pat Grassley is the lead sponsor on these bills and began talking about these moves in January during an appearance on Iowa P-B-S. “What we hear on the campaign trail — the impact that inflation’s having on Iowans and at the state level, we don’t affect monetary policy at the federal level, so what can we control and that’s taxing of items we feel is the quickest way to provide relief,” Grassley said. Republican Representative Christian Hermanson of Mason City has been picked to lead debate on the bill to eliminate the state sales tax on laundry detergent.

House Speaker Pat Grassley (official photo)

“I think every little bit where the state can lean in and reduce the burden of sales tax on a family, on daily necessities like toilet paper or…just detergent in general is probably a good thing,” Hermanson said. This slate of proposals is a priority for House Republicans and were approved by subcommittees early this (Wednesday) morning. “I believe good tax policy is always a priority in the legislature,” Hermanson says. “What our Senate colleagues on the other side of the rotunda do is anybody’s guess.” Republican Representative Craig Johnson of Independence is on the subcommittee that advanced a bill to eliminate the tax on vitamins and nutritional supplements. “Anything that comes to tax reduction should be reviewed and looked at and this is just one step of many that we’ve got going on this session,” Johnson said.

Another bill advancing in the House expands the state tax credit for child care expenses to all families. Under current law, it’s limited to households with an annual income of 35-thousand dollars or less.