Dear Legislator:
On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s 7,100 members in Maryland, I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 602 (SB 602), which would impose a new burdensome tax on plastic grocery bags.
SB 602 would punish all Marylanders for simply shopping and would limit their options for carrying groceries home. If this bill passes, Marylanders could have to pay an additional $7.6 million just in taxes, according to the Fiscal Note attached to the bill. Additionally, the Fiscal Note indicates that SB 602 would significantly impact small businesses with more responsibilities and compliance costs. Especially during the current period of economic uncertainty in Maryland, burdensome taxes such as this should not be on the table. Further, elected officials should be reluctant to effectively make routine personal decisions for consumers, especially by dictating such choices through onerous tax policies. Plastic bags offer consumers an advantage in terms of volume and durability; they also require less energy and resources to make than paper or even reusable bags. A typical plastic bag weighs only 4-5 grams, but can hold up to 17 pounds. Additionally, plastic bags are easily recycled and utilized for other tasks such as carrying lunches and disposing of waste; which is why they are popular options for storage among Maryland’s many low-income families and seniors.
Although currently fashionable among the political elite, research has shown that bag taxes have dubious value as public policy. The Tax Foundation reports that bag taxes, like other so-called “sin taxes,” fail to produce the promised revenues; furthermore, they do little to clean up the environment. Research by the Beacon Hill Institute found that Washington, D.C.’s plastic bag tax cost the city at least 100 jobs and resulted in a $5.6 million drop in aggregate disposable income. Moreover, a study by the Northwest Economic Policy Seminar concluded that a bag tax imposed by Seattle has done little to reduce landfill deposits. What the new laws have done is open municipalities to expensive litigation and increase costs for consumers. The fact of the matter is: as the cost of a good or activity increases, consumers either buy less of it or, seek out the good or activity from another, cheaper source. What’s more, even the supposedly “green” option may be of lower quality and, ironically, may be more damaging to the environment. A Tampa Tribune investigation determined that reusable bags sold in Winn-Dixie and Publix stores in Florida contained dangerous levels of lead. Reusable bags are seldom washed, which makes them prone to carrying harmful bacteria such as E.coli. Perhaps all of these problems are reasons why no statewide tax on plastic bags has been enacted in the U.S. thus far.
Maryland faces serious fiscal challenges, and the state needs to undertake equally serious reforms. However, the state shouldn’t contribute to an already onerous tax burden by heaping on a new burdensome plastic bag tax that has questionable merit in several respects. Therefore, our members hope you will reject SB 602.
Sincerely,
John Stephenson
State Government Affairs Manager