By Katie Obradovich

The Iowa House voted Wednesday to ¢â‚¬Å“wipe away the stain of sales tax ¢â‚¬ � on toilet paper purchases, as Rep. Christian Hermanson, R-Mason City, said during debate.

House File 1019 passed the House on a vote of 82-11 and moves to the Senate. If signed into law, the bill would take effect July 1.

The measure would cost the state an estimated $6 million in estimated general fund receipts in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, growing to a total of $6.5 million a year by 2030, according to a fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

The local option sales tax revenues collected by local governments and the 1-cent sales tax that goes to Iowa schools each would decline by just over $1 million a year, LSA estimated. The bottom line: A total savings of $9.1 million annually for consumers by 2030.

Hermanson noted that the state also exempts sales taxes on other necessities such as food and medicine.

¢â‚¬Å“The bill recognizes toilet paper is not a luxury, it ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a choice, it ¢â‚¬â„¢s a necessity. And I think we can all agree, taxing it stinks, ¢â‚¬ � he said.

Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, rolled with the puns, adding that it was ¢â‚¬Å“time that we flush away this sales tax on toilet paper. ¢â‚¬ �

The bill is one of several proposals this session to remove the sales tax from the purchase of household necessities, such as tampons, soap and laundry detergent.  A separate bill removing the tax from vitamins and minerals also passed the House on Wednesday.