New Water Bottle Tax to Nickel and Dime Consumers, Small Businesses
Assemblywoman Russell voted for so-called “Bigger Better Bottle Bill”
which could kill jobs, raise consumer prices on water bottles
Starting this Sunday, November 8th, New York consumers will have to pay more for bottled water thanks to a new state law.
The so-called “Bigger Better Bottle Bill” was passed into law by Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D-118th A. D.) in state budget bill A.159-B and adds a 5-cent returnable deposit to water bottles and flavored water that contains no sugar – an additional $1.20 for a 24-pack of bottled water.
In addition to New Yorkers paying an additional 5-cent deposit, customers can expect to pay higher retail prices per bottle due to a hike, from 2 cents to 3.5 cents, in the state’s bottle handling fee. For bottle retailers the situation gets worse as the law allows the state to seize 80 percent of their Refund Value Account each quarter. The Refund Value Account was designed to hold money from bottle deposits to be used for offsetting expenses of bottle redemption.
Small businesses already struggling to stay afloat will be hit with yet another unfunded state mandate as they will need to allocate staff resources or hire outside help to handle the processing of the expanded bottle bill. Funds collected by the state from this bill will go into the state’s General Fund — not the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.
Russell passed the water bottle tax in addition to $4.4 billion in other taxes (A.157-B) to pay for her spending addiction in the state budget that benefits New York City over Northern New York.
“This new water bottle tax is yet another example of how Assemblywoman Russell can’t quench the state’s thirst for collecting higher taxes and fees on working families and small businesses. Assemblywoman Russell’s tax and fee hikes add up to more than nickels and dimes: they lead to lost jobs and lighter wallets,” said Kathleen Hennessey, Spokeswoman for the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC).
