Shoppers who fill their orders at grocery stores in Fredericksburg must soon pay for plastic bags.
Today, the city announced it will begin taxing retailers five cents for every disposable plastic bag used starting January 1, 2022. The new tax should reduce the number of disposable plastic bags in the city, leaders said.
At stores that pass the tax along to their customers, shoppers must pay for the bags at the point of sale, similar to when retailers charge sales tax. Groceries, convenience, and drug stores are responsible for paying the new city tax.
The tax does not apply to plastic bags carrying meat, produce, trash, or pet waste. Members of the Fredericksburg City Council began discussing the tax this past summer.
“It is past time for us to take this action. Plastic bags are just one step of the process. It’s not hard to get into new habits if you’re not there already,” said At-large City Council Member Kerry Devine during the September 14 City Council meeting when the City Council voted unanimously to adopt the tax.
Devine encouraged shoppers to carry reusable plastic bags. Devine added that some of the tax money the city collects from the new levy would be used to purchase reusable bags for residents.
Stores at Central Park, a regional shopping hub located within Fredericksburg City limits, will be responsible for paying the tax.
Today, the city issued a press release about the new tax.
A disposable-plastic-bag tax will go into effect on January 1 in the City of Fredericksburg.
The Virginia General Assembly last year enacted legislation to authorize the new tax of 5 cents per disposable plastic bag provided to retail customers by grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores. Fredericksburg City Council adopted the tax earlier this year to take effect January 1 in an effort to reduce the use of single-use disposable plastic bags in the City and promote the use of durable multi-use bags by retail and restaurant establishments. This initiative is an extension of City Council’s desired future state for a Green, Clean Environment in which “Fredericksburg is a responsible, modern city with a quality of life that is guaranteed by thoughtful environmental stewardship.”
The tax will be collected at the point of purchase, in a similar manner as sales taxes, and will be administered and enforced by the Virginia Tax Commissioner in Richmond.
Larger “big box” retailers such as Walmart or Target will be subject to the tax if they contain a grocery store, convenience store or drugstore. No retailer will be subject to the tax solely because it offers a limited number of snacks and beverages for sale at the cash register. Furthermore, per state code, the tax will only apply to retailers that maintain regular business hours at a fixed place of business in the City.
Retailers will be compensated for the costs of collecting and remitting the tax by retaining a portion of the tax collected. Until January 1, 2023, retailers subject to the tax will be able to retain 2 cents for every 5 cents collected. After January 1, 2023, this discount will be reduced to 1 cent per bag.
The 5-cent tax will not apply to:
• Durable plastic bags meant for multiple reuse
• Bags that are solely used to wrap ice cream, meat, fish, poultry, produce, unwrapped bulk food items or other perishable food items in order to avoid damage or contamination
• Plastic bags used for dry cleaning or prescription drugs
• Bags that are packaged and sold for use as garbage, pet waste or leaf-removal bagsState law requires that all revenue collected from this tax shall be appropriated for the purposes of environmental cleanup, providing education programs designed to reduce environmental waste, mitigating pollution and litter, and providing reusable bags to recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) benefits.
