Back in December, I posted here on MattChat about an upcoming tax in Chicago on plastic bags:
Well, the tax is now in effect.
This thing has got to be a nightmare to assess/administer.
Look at some of the guidelines:
•It's up to retailers to decide whether to pass the tax along to the customer or absorb the cost, but many — including Walgreens, Jewel-Osco, Whole Foods Market, Mariano's, Target, CVS, PetSmart and T.J. Maxx — said shoppers will foot the bill. Whole Foods, Target and Mariano's, all of which already provide an incentive for shoppers to bring their own bags by offering 5 to 10 cents back for each reusable bag used, will continue providing those rewards.
•Unlike the city's earlier ban on lightweight plastic bags, the tax applies to disposable paper as well as plastic. It's also 7 cents per bag, not per purchase, so bring a bunch if you're hoping to avoid the tax on bigger shopping trips. Mariano's said it will work with baggers to minimize the number used.
•You won't need to fork over the tax for bags used to package loose bulk items — like produce, nuts, grains and baked goods — or to wrap frozen foods at the grocery store. Same goes for paper prescription drug bags, dry cleaning bags and takeout restaurant bags.
•Stocking up on packs of garbage bags and Ziplocs? You won't pay a tax on each bag in the box, but you would still pay 7 cents for a disposable bag to carry them home.
•The tax does not apply to bags used to carry items purchased with federal food stamp benefits like those received through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
(source: Chicago Tribune)
My #1 question is still unanswered......
Can a customer not pay for their purchase until it's been determined how many bags were used? This will really slow down the check-out lines.
Others:
How is the tax applied in those self-check lanes?
What if the customer is unhappy with the way the clerk is bagging? (i.e. only puts 5 items in a bag when 8 would fit)
What about double-bagging? Some clerks automatically do it as a courtesy, but would that mean 14 cents gets added to the bill?
With their portion of the revenue from this tax, are stores gonna beef-up the quality of their bags to prevent rips and blow-outs from taking place in the parking lot?
Plastic bags are way cheaper than 7 cents out on eBay. Won't some folks just source their own, saving $$ and avoiding the tax?
One more...... it sounds like customers can bring in plastic bags on which the tax has already been assessed (from prior purchases). This will be another cause of slower check-out lanes as customers hand a wad of plastic bags to the clerk and he/she has to get them prepped for bagging.
What a silly, stupid, complicated, convoluted idea.
Out for now.......
Matt