 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is once again looking for ways to nickel and dime
Chicago residents to fill holes in the city’s budget. As part of his 2017 budget
introduced Oct. 11, Emanuel is proposing adding a 7-cent tax on plastic bags
used in the city. This is an extension of an ordinance that went into effect in
2015 that put restrictions on the use of plastic bags.
Under the first phase of this ordinance, which went into effect Aug. 1, 2015,
chain stores and franchises over 10,000 square feet are banned from using
standard thin plastic bags to carry groceries in, and are required to provide
reusable bags instead. These requirements expanded to all chains and franchises
within the city under the second phase of the ordinance, which went into effect
Aug. 1, 2016. Any store that violates the ordinance could face a fine of
$100-500.
The unintended consequences of the plastic bag ban have hurt business and
consumers alike. In order to avoid the fine, businesses have resorted to
providing bags made of a thicker plastic that are considered reusable. The idea
is that consumers can reuse a bag made of a thicker and more durable plastic,
but there is no guarantee consumers would reuse these bags. Thus, instead of
throwing away thin plastic bags, consumers could instead be throwing away bags
made of a thicker plastic. There is also research showing that using reusable
bags could be hazardous to public heath because reusable bags, if not properly
cleaned, could be carrying dangerous bacteria from raw meat and vegetables.
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Chicagoans are overburdened with taxes. Chicago residents already
are being hit with record-high new property tax hikes, the nation’s
highest sales tax and various other taxes and fees. This new bag tax
would also especially hurt low-income people who would be hit with
increased grocery bills.
Chicago taxpayers need a taxpayer bill of rights to prevent
politicians from unexpectedly raising any more taxes on them. Under
a taxpayer bill of rights, the government would be restricted on how
much revenue it can collect in a year, and would need to ask
permission from voters before they raise taxes or introduce any new
tax. In fact, if Chicago had a taxpayer bill of rights, the city
government wouldn’t be able to impose a new plastic bag tax without
getting voter approval via a referendum.
Adding more nickel-and-dime taxes only hurts Chicagoans’
pocketbooks. Chicago politicians need to look at real reforms to fix
the city’s massive budget problems, such as implementing pension
reform and advocating for workers’ compensation reform.
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