Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans are wrestling with the governor’s proposal to raise the state tax on tobacco products and start assessing a 15 percent sales tax on vaping products.
He suggests it doesn’t fit with their recent moves to cut state income taxes.
Reynolds told reporters that she’s not a governor who raises taxes but supports raising taxes on products that have been linked to lung cancer, which aligns with the Make America Healthy Again or MAHA agenda.
House Republicans have already taken the step of removing the tax increase from the governor’s MAHA bill.
Before the 2026 legislative session started, Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, a former smoker, said vaping products deliver nicotine just like cigarettes, and he’d have a conversation with his fellow Republicans in the senate about taxing vapes.
The governor’s broader proposal which would tax vapes and raise tobacco taxes failed in a senate committee last week.
A state report indicates the cigarette smoking rate among Iowa adults has dropped to 5.6 percent, but the use of e-cigarettes continues to rise, as 23.5 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds vape regularly.
KIWA Staff Photo
