« The Columbian on EFCA | Main | Paid Family Leave Dies in New York: Washington Lawmakers Should Drop The Issue in 2009 »

August 25, 2008

Chicago Bottle Water Tax Trickling In---First in Nation Tax Has People Running to the Suburbs to Beat the Tax

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) now is faced with millions in budget cuts because the nation's first tax on bottled water is only "trickling" in.  The 5 cents a bottle tax took effect in January and was suppose to bring in $10.5 million in revenue.  To date, the city has collected $2 million and the city has a $20 million shortfall.

According to Budget and Tax News, local business people and bottled water industry officials told the mayor and city council it would not work.   "We're not surprised, said Tim Bramlet, executive director of the Illinois Beverage Association. "When people are used to paying $4 a case and suddenly the price goes to $5.20, they respond."  Where people would buy two cases, they now buy one.  Or, they'll buy their bottled water outside the city limits.   Bramlet said:  "The city ignored this.  They just put their heads in the sand."

Hopefully, Seattle, other Washington cities and the state will learn from the Chicago experience.

Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341d193f53ef00e554722a5b8834

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Chicago Bottle Water Tax Trickling In---First in Nation Tax Has People Running to the Suburbs to Beat the Tax:

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.

AWB on Twitter

    follow me on Twitter
    Blog powered by TypePad
    Bookmark and Share
    www.flickr.com
    This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from Association of Washington Business. Make your own badge here.