New York City merchants will start charging customers 5 cents for plastic bags under a bill that the City Council is expected to pass.
The City Council is set to vote on the fee Thursday.
Backers hope the fee will reduce pollution and unsightly litter from the billions of plastic bags that New Yorkers dispose of annually.
Opponents say the fee amounts to a new burden on a heavily taxed population.
The law would cover plastic and paper bags given out by grocery stores, drugstores and other retailers. The fee would be kept by the store, not the city.
Exemptions would include restaurant takeout orders and purchases made with food stamps.
The law will go into effect Oct. 1 if it passes and is signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
(AP)
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One Response
Oh, Sure, We’re not after another TAX! we’re after the environment stupid! For every billion bags the city gets another 50,000,000 dollars! They’re after your hard earned money! They need some more revenue to cover their pet projects! Greeny it would be nice if you just get out of our park. This park has been getting renovated every other year for the past 30 years! Don’t use OUR HARD EARNED MONEY for your political gains. I don’t care about your or whoevers publicity stunt. Let go of my money! This is exactly how the egyptian Paraoh got the jews enslaved. He started by paying them, Then he slowly stopped paying them altogether and got all the jews to work for him for free! Here we also work for the govt for free. We have our jobs and the govt takes the paycheck! Like by paraoh we had to be greatful for the meager bread allowance, same here. We are robbed by all you politicians. DISGUSTING! GO TRUMP GO!