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Quinn Kills 5 Cent Plastic Bag Fee, Tax on Clothes
By
John Del Signore
Published May 29, 2009
Modified May 29, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 29, 2009
Modified May 29, 2009
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Mayor Bloomberg's proposed 5-cent fee on every plastic bag used by shoppers would help reduce waste and raise an estimated $100 million to help the city's budget crisis, but it will probably never see the light of day now that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn opposes it. Quinn is also blocking a move to reimpose the city sales tax on clothing and shoes under $110, which would raise an estimated $394 million a year, and instead she wants to increase the city's sales tax from 4% to 4.5%.
Though the Speaker hasn't commented publicly, sources tell the Staten Island Advance the proposals were omitted during budget negotiations yesterday. Regarding the nickel bag fee, one anonymous councilman tells the Daily News, "It's just another tax on working people."
Nobody wants taxes, but nobody wants the city—which is facing multi-billion dollar budget deficits in coming years, based on city projections—to cut services either. In some Western European countries, shoppers do this freaky thing where they bring their own bags to the store! In New York, large retailers are now required to accept plastic bags back for recycling, but wouldn't it be a lot easier if they didn't give them out in the first place?
Tagged
bill
bloomberg
budget
City Council
fee
five cent
nyc
plastic bag
plastic bag tax
quinn
tax
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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