New bag fee will be taxed
By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN
Come June 1, it appears Toronto consumers will be forced to pay not just a 5 cents fee on the plastic shopping bags they use to transport their purchases -- but taxes on that fee, too
By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN
Come June 1, it appears Toronto consumers will be forced to pay not just a 5 cents fee on the plastic shopping bags they use to transport their purchases -- but taxes on that fee, too
That is the word from both the province and the federal government, according to documents obtained by the Toronto Sun.
Both the province and the feds consider plastic bags that must be purchased as "taxable goods." As such, they will be subject to the Ontario Retail Sales Tax (RST) if the total transaction in question is more than 21 cents and the GST, which will be calculated based on the total amount of taxable goods purchased.
So much for declarations from the King of Climate Change -- Mayor David Miller -- that no new taxes are associated with his latest crusade to reduce the number of coffee cups, plastic shopping bags and take-out food containers that go into landfill.
Mind you, I never for a moment bought his contentions that the 5 cents fee to be imposed in a little over a month on all Toronto retailers who provide plastic bags for their merchandise -- your favourite grocery, drug and convenience stores, news stands, fashion outlets, big-box and electronics stores -- was not a tax.
Socialist Silly Hall may not be collecting the tax. But the fee has been foisted on retailers and consumers -- during very tough times -- and the large grocery stores stand to cash in to the tune of as much as $44 million extra per year because of it.
I'm told retailers are gearing up for June 1, whether they like it or not.
Karin Campbell, manager of corporate affairs for Walmart Canada, said 11 stores in the GTA will begin charging a nickel per plastic bag as of June 1.
But they're not making the change chain-wide because their customers are facing tough economic times.
"We don't think this is the right time to be charging money for bags," she said. "Our focus is on raising awareness of the benefits of using reusable bags."
Campbell noted their 97 cents reusable bag is the equivalent of three shopping bags.
Gary Sands, v-p of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (representing such outlets as Longo's, Highland Farms and Pusateri's) said while most of his members are getting ready for the June implementation of the plastic bag tax, he's not sure convenience stores and fast-food outlets are prepared.
"It is our belief not everybody is aware of this," he said, noting that the requirement to add GST and PST to the bag is a "recipe for chaos" for small convenience stores and groceterias.
Meanwhile on a more upbeat note, members of the $50,000 Hot Drink Cup Task Force say that following a three-hour meeting early last week, they're feeling more positive an option may be found other than banning the current paper coffee and tea cups that use plastic lids.
Stephanie Jones, v-p Ontario of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said it was the "first time" the city was "definitively" looking at alternatives to the tax-and-ban approach introduced last November (the former being a plan to order industry players to give clients supplying a refillable mug a 20 cents rebate on their purchase.)
Nick Javor, senior v-p of corporate affairs at Tim Hortons, said they saw some "positive attitudes" towards looking at the challenges of sorting the cup and lid and how the recycled materials can be processed for a proper end-use market.
OPTION FOR CONSUMERS
"Our position hasn't changed ... that our cup is recyclable," he said, noting if consumers are given an option to sort the lid from the cup, they will.
"It was the first time that the time and effort put in (by the Task Force) may result in a workable solution," Jones added.
Even Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker, who has been consistently married to reinventing a coffee cup that has both paper cup and lid and can be accepted into the blue bin, seems to be open to alternatives.
"All options are on the table," he said. "I want to work in close cooperation with everybody to come up with what is the very best solution."
Both the province and the feds consider plastic bags that must be purchased as "taxable goods." As such, they will be subject to the Ontario Retail Sales Tax (RST) if the total transaction in question is more than 21 cents and the GST, which will be calculated based on the total amount of taxable goods purchased.
So much for declarations from the King of Climate Change -- Mayor David Miller -- that no new taxes are associated with his latest crusade to reduce the number of coffee cups, plastic shopping bags and take-out food containers that go into landfill.
Mind you, I never for a moment bought his contentions that the 5 cents fee to be imposed in a little over a month on all Toronto retailers who provide plastic bags for their merchandise -- your favourite grocery, drug and convenience stores, news stands, fashion outlets, big-box and electronics stores -- was not a tax.
Socialist Silly Hall may not be collecting the tax. But the fee has been foisted on retailers and consumers -- during very tough times -- and the large grocery stores stand to cash in to the tune of as much as $44 million extra per year because of it.
I'm told retailers are gearing up for June 1, whether they like it or not.
Karin Campbell, manager of corporate affairs for Walmart Canada, said 11 stores in the GTA will begin charging a nickel per plastic bag as of June 1.
But they're not making the change chain-wide because their customers are facing tough economic times.
"We don't think this is the right time to be charging money for bags," she said. "Our focus is on raising awareness of the benefits of using reusable bags."
Campbell noted their 97 cents reusable bag is the equivalent of three shopping bags.
Gary Sands, v-p of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (representing such outlets as Longo's, Highland Farms and Pusateri's) said while most of his members are getting ready for the June implementation of the plastic bag tax, he's not sure convenience stores and fast-food outlets are prepared.
"It is our belief not everybody is aware of this," he said, noting that the requirement to add GST and PST to the bag is a "recipe for chaos" for small convenience stores and groceterias.
Meanwhile on a more upbeat note, members of the $50,000 Hot Drink Cup Task Force say that following a three-hour meeting early last week, they're feeling more positive an option may be found other than banning the current paper coffee and tea cups that use plastic lids.
Stephanie Jones, v-p Ontario of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said it was the "first time" the city was "definitively" looking at alternatives to the tax-and-ban approach introduced last November (the former being a plan to order industry players to give clients supplying a refillable mug a 20 cents rebate on their purchase.)
Nick Javor, senior v-p of corporate affairs at Tim Hortons, said they saw some "positive attitudes" towards looking at the challenges of sorting the cup and lid and how the recycled materials can be processed for a proper end-use market.
OPTION FOR CONSUMERS
"Our position hasn't changed ... that our cup is recyclable," he said, noting if consumers are given an option to sort the lid from the cup, they will.
"It was the first time that the time and effort put in (by the Task Force) may result in a workable solution," Jones added.
Even Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker, who has been consistently married to reinventing a coffee cup that has both paper cup and lid and can be accepted into the blue bin, seems to be open to alternatives.
"All options are on the table," he said. "I want to work in close cooperation with everybody to come up with what is the very best solution."
1 comment:
hey moron.
"That is the word from both the province and the federal government"but there is something you can do. It isn't like you're a poor helpless dimwit. Or, maybe you are, I don't know.
Use your own bags, and save your money. Is it really that hard to figure out?
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