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Taxes Versus Deposits
John Faso’s campaign for governor is organized around one issue – cutting taxes. During the first gubernatorial debate, he responded to virtually every question with the same answer: the state needs to cut taxes. Faso’s main critique of his adversary, Eliot Spitzer, is that Spitzer will “raise taxes.” Despite Spitzer’s repeated denial of any such intention, Faso continually made the charge. Faso supports his claim that Spitzer will hike taxes by citing the Attorney General’s recommendation to expand the state’s Bottle Law. The Bottle Law requires that consumers deposit a nickel for every carbonated beverage container purchased. Since the early 1980s, New Yorkers have plunked down a nickel for every beer and soda container. The law has been very successful in reducing litter and helping to stimulate recycling. The law has also proven to be very popular with New Yorkers. It has also provided a windfall for the soda and beer companies. Every time a consumer fails to redeem his or her nickel deposit, the companies keep the money. As a result, companies like Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch have seen their already-considerable profits swell. Spitzer has called for an expansion of the Bottle Law to include other containers, such as bottled water, sports drinks, juice, etc. He has also recommended that the state keep the unredeemed nickels instead of the companies. Faso calls this a “tax.” Is he correct in his charge? Let’s start with the dictionary. According to Webster’s dictionary the word “tax (noun)” is ”a charge usually of money imposed by legislative or other public authority upon persons or property for public purposes.” Here are some examples of taxes:
Again according to the dictionary, the word “deposit (noun)” means “money given as security for an article acquired for temporary use” (e.g. ‘T he boy returned the bottle and got his five-cent deposit back). Here are some examples of deposits:
The Spitzer proposal to modernize the Bottle Law would place a minimum 5-cent refundable deposit on bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages. And New York State would use the unredeemed nickels – worth $180 million annually – for public purposes, instead of allowing the industry to keep the windfall. John Faso can be opposed to the plan. But he is wrong to call it a tax and the public shouldn’t be misled by Faso’s repeated references to it as such. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
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