Statewide Iowa — (RI) — Republican leaders in the Iowa legislature say they’ll keep an open mind as they wait for more details of the governor’s tax package.
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds used the annual “Condition of the State” address Tuesday to propose deeper state income tax cuts as well as an increase in the state sales tax to finance mental health care services and more water quality projects.
Reynolds uses the word “comprehensive” to describe the plan.
The plan speeds up a series of income tax cuts originally approved in 2018 and adds a 10 percent across-the-board cut for most Iowans as well as a 25 percent reduction in state income taxes for low-income Iowans. The additional revenue from the one-percent state SALES tax hike would have two uses under the Reynolds plan — first, to dramatically increase state spending on the mental health system for adults and children.
Some Democrats suggest cutting income taxes and raising the sales tax shifts the tax burden onto lower income Iowans. Reynolds says the state does not charge the sales tax on food and prescription medications and she’s calling on legislators to erase the sales tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products as another way to reduce the tax burden for low-income Iowans. Reynolds made her comments during an interview with Radio Iowa late Tuesday afternoon.
