FREE Shipping over $99
My Account

The Filtered Files - Filters Fast

  • Refrigerator Water Filters
  • Air Filters
  • Water Filters
  • Pool & Spa Filters
  • All Products
    • Humidifier Filters
    • 3M Command
    • Appliance Cleaners
    • BioScan Air Test Kits
    • Bottled Water Coolers
    • Car Air Filters
    • Icemakers
    • Pool Toys
    • Microwave Filters
    • Mounting Brackets
    • Pet Products
    • Range Hood Filters
    • Water Bottles
    • Spazazz Spa Salts
    • Wrenches
    • Water Test Kits
    • Clearance Items
  • Home
  • About
  • Indoor Air Quality
  • Just For You
  • Water Quality Issues

Bottled Water Tax — Is Bottled Water a Sin?

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Daniel 3 Comments

This Tax Day, as many Americans are scrambling to file their income taxes, legislators around the country are considering a bottled water tax.

Washington state’s legislature recently approved a revenue package that included an increased bottled water tax, as well as a tax on candy, sodas and mass-produced beers. The bottled water tax would expire in 2013, unless voters in November approve a recently-passed bonds measure. In this case, the bottled water tax would become permanent.  This tax would fund improvements to public school buildings, and also create 30,000 construction jobs.

Countless other legislators, in the U.S. and Canada, have also debated a tax on bottled water. Why tax bottled water? What does bottled water have in common with the other taxed products in the revenue package?  They are all discretionary purchases.

Many other cities have in the past applied a sin tax on bottled water (Chicago was the first to do this in December of 2007). Alcohol and cigarettes are the most common products to fall under sin tax, and yet bottled water does not contribute to any potential health risks in an individual. It’s probably more appropriate to label a bottled water tax as an Ecotax, which Wikipedia defines as a tax meant “to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives.”

Realistically, adding 5 cents or so to the purchase price of every bottle of water probably wouldn’t dissuade most people from buying bottled water — I think most consumers of the bottled water probably don’t care too much about the price, since they can have the equivalent or an even better water at home for a fraction of the cost.

The question, then, is would a bottled water tax be ethical? Is it acceptable to tax bottled water and use the money to fund education and other worthwhile initiatives?

What do you guys think?.

  • Share:
  • Bookmark on Delicious
  • Digg this post
  • Recommend on Facebook
  • Share on Google +
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share via MySpace
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share via Reddit
  • Share with Stumblers
  • Share on technorati
  • Tweet about it
  • Subscribe to the comments on this post
  • Tell a friend
Pin It

Posted in Water and Air Education Tagged bottled water tax, Ecotax, sin tax, tax bottled water 3 Comments

Search

Recent Posts

  • How to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home
  • April is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month
  • How to Figure out Which Refrigerator Filter you Need
  • World Water Day 2018: What FiltersFast.com is doing to help end the Global Water Crisis
  • Easy Tips for Going Green

Blogroll

  • American Lung Association
  • American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
  • American Water Resources Association (AWRA)
  • American Water Works Association (AWWA)
  • Easy Ways to Go Green
  • EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
  • EPA Office of Indoor Air Quality
  • Filters Fast — Buy Air & Water Filters
  • National Air Filtration Association
  • National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
  • National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
  • The Institute for Public Health and Water Research (IPWR)
  • US EPA "Surf Your Watershed"
  • USGS Water Resources of the United States
  • Water Encyclopedia – Science & Issues
  • Water Quality Association (WQA)

Filtered Files

April 2018
M T W T F S S
« Mar    
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

©2005-2016 Filters Fast LLC - All Rights Reserved

  • follow:follow:
  • Like
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Subscribe to my YouTube Channel