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Fairfax County board passes 5-cent tax on plastic shopping bags
Fairfax County board passes 5-cent tax on plastic shopping bags
10 min ago
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week voted 9-1 to approve a 5-cent tax on plastic bags at grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores.
The tax will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.
Supervisor Pat Herrity of the Springfield district cast the only dissenting vote.
The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation in 2020 allowing localities to impose a 5-cent tax on disposable plastic bags at grocery, convenience and drug stores, with some exceptions.
The state code requires retailers to collect the tax proceeds in a similar manner to sales and meals taxes. Through Dec. 31, 2022, retailers can keep 2 cents from the tax collected on each bag, with the retailers’ share dropping to 1 cent starting Jan. 1, 2023.
{snip}
10 min ago
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week voted 9-1 to approve a 5-cent tax on plastic bags at grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores.
The tax will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.
Supervisor Pat Herrity of the Springfield district cast the only dissenting vote.
The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation in 2020 allowing localities to impose a 5-cent tax on disposable plastic bags at grocery, convenience and drug stores, with some exceptions.
The state code requires retailers to collect the tax proceeds in a similar manner to sales and meals taxes. Through Dec. 31, 2022, retailers can keep 2 cents from the tax collected on each bag, with the retailers’ share dropping to 1 cent starting Jan. 1, 2023.
{snip}
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
SEP 15, 3:46 PM
Trump EPA Administrator Speaks Out Against Fairfax County’s 5-Cent Plastic Bag Fee
Jacob Fenston https://twitter.com/JacobFenston
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday evening to adopt a $0.05 fee on plastic bags, becoming the first jurisdiction in Northern Virginia to tax disposable shopping bags. The move was not without its detractors: among them, Fairfax resident Andrew Wheeler.
Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who also ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump, showed up at the Fairfax County Government Center to testify against the bag tax, wearing a dark blue gingham suit and a face mask not covering his nose.
“It is misguided, and could ultimately do more environmental harm than good,” Wheeler said of the bag fee, noting that reusable bags can also have a negative impact on the environment. He called the bag tax an “optical Band-Aid” that would have “little-to-no effect on the problem at hand.”
Andrew Wheeler, former EPA administrator, testifying against the bag fee.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
In a familiar Trump administration refrain, Wheeler blamed China. “The alarming truth of the matter is that over 50% of ocean plastics come from five Asian countries, China being the greatest offender by far.”
The board of supervisors voted 9 to 1 to adopt the bag tax, which will go into effect January 1, 2021.
{snip}
Trump EPA Administrator Speaks Out Against Fairfax County’s 5-Cent Plastic Bag Fee
Jacob Fenston https://twitter.com/JacobFenston
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday evening to adopt a $0.05 fee on plastic bags, becoming the first jurisdiction in Northern Virginia to tax disposable shopping bags. The move was not without its detractors: among them, Fairfax resident Andrew Wheeler.
Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who also ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump, showed up at the Fairfax County Government Center to testify against the bag tax, wearing a dark blue gingham suit and a face mask not covering his nose.
“It is misguided, and could ultimately do more environmental harm than good,” Wheeler said of the bag fee, noting that reusable bags can also have a negative impact on the environment. He called the bag tax an “optical Band-Aid” that would have “little-to-no effect on the problem at hand.”
Andrew Wheeler, former EPA administrator, testifying against the bag fee.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
In a familiar Trump administration refrain, Wheeler blamed China. “The alarming truth of the matter is that over 50% of ocean plastics come from five Asian countries, China being the greatest offender by far.”
The board of supervisors voted 9 to 1 to adopt the bag tax, which will go into effect January 1, 2021.
{snip}