SSB 1025 – Eliminating requirement to indicate health coverage for children on tax return
HF 242 – Repealing individual income tax checkoff for Iowa election campaign fund
COMMITTEE ACTION
SSB 1025 eliminates the requirement that taxpayers indicate on their tax returns whether their dependent children have health insurance coverage. This requirement started with tax year 2010 to help identify those eligible for hawk-i or Medicaid. After the Department of Revenue (DOR) compiles the information, it is sent to the Department of Human Services (DHS) to identify those eligible to apply for health insurance coverage for their children. The cost per new enrollee of DHS outreach has declined significantly. Recent information on the number of new enrollees under this program is not available because of changes in the application for hawk-i and Medicaid that removed a question on how the individual heard about the program.
[3/21: 9-6 party-line]
HF 242 removes the political checkoff from Iowa state income tax forms for taxes prior to January 1, 2017, meaning the checkoff would be removed starting with taxes filed in April 2017. After tax year 2016, the political checkoff is repealed and no longer available. The checkoff generates approximately $65,000 for qualified state political parties, which includes the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party.
[3/21: 9-6 party-line]