Council expected to back 2-cent bottle tax
From City Hall, the Baltimore Sun's Julie Scharper reports that the City Council will vote Monday night on a 2-cent tax on bottled beverages, to expire after three years.
City Hall sources say Councilwoman Helen Holton, who last week helped to defeat the 4-cent bottle tax backed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has agreed to support the more modest measure following a meeting Monday afternoon with the mayor.
Having voted against the 4-cent tax last week, Holton may file a motion to reconsider it on Monday night. The council is expected to amend the measure, cutting the tax in half and adding the sunset date, and approve it Monday night in a preliminary vote. A final vote would be held later this week.
Rawlings-Blake and the council have been negotiating the mix of new taxes and service cuts needed to close a $121 million budget gap by the end of the fiscal year June 30.
The 4-cent bottle tax, which officials say would have generated $11.4 million, failed last week when the council deadlocked 7-7. It is the only revenue-raising measure proposed by Rawlings-Blake that the council has not approved.
Comments
Expire... yeah right. I am short selling my place and moving the heck out of this city in six months. This place is currupt and the politicians have no backbone. Thanks!
Posted by: Felli217 | June 21, 2010 6:30 PM
If they are going to pass this; why on earth not support a .05 tax with a .03 cent return deposit to at least encourage community trash cleanup? What the heck are these people doing?!?!?! They have no sense!
Posted by: Lz | June 21, 2010 6:44 PM
Someday the voters of Baltimore City will wake up and realize the mistakes they've made at the ballot box for the past 20 years! When you vote for idiots you get a logic-free government...when you for vote for corrupt people you get corrupt government.
In Baltimore's case, unfortunately you've got both!
The brain power ensconced at City Hall would be hard pressed to run a successful burger franchise.
Posted by: Mike | June 21, 2010 7:21 PM
If they pass this new tax it should also be expanded to beer, wine and liquor containers if the Baltimore City Council has the courage to stand up to their masters from the liquor and beer distributors. Of course they won't do this because the distributors make large above and below the table campaign contributions.
Posted by: MarkP | June 21, 2010 7:56 PM
$11.4 million at .04 cents a bottle is 285,000,000 bottles.
637,000 residents of Baltimore.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24/24510.html
Thats 447 bottles of taxable containers per year per person. So that leave it as a tourist and visitor tax. The bars and restaurants will pay the 4 cents and turn it to the patrons.
That means they KNOW it is a visitor tax more than a resident tax but are intellectually too dishonest to admit it.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 21, 2010 8:16 PM