CAUTION: EPR Eco-fees become targets of anti-tax fever

As the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) takes hold, the serious discussion of  how recycling is paid for enters the discussion with equal vigor.  Two areas active in EPR, Ontario and California, are in the throes of these discussions now.

This article from the Toronto Star describes a fire storm over EPR eco-fees in Ontario: Eco-fee agency says levies could be buried in price

In California, a proposed ballot measure for November 2010 is designed to shift the burden of paying for the cost of pollution from the companies that pollute to ordinary taxpayers.  This “Polluter Protection Initiative” is funded entirely by corporations and organizations that do not want to pay for the harm they cause.  “Oil companies Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Connoco Philips; alcohol companies such as Anheuser-Busch, and MillerCoors; and the tobacco company Phillip Morris (through a half-million dollar contribution to the California Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee) have already raised over two million dollars to qualify for the ballot.”  Read more:  Polluter FAQ v2.doc

For Product Policy Institute’s perspective on eco-fees, read our discussion document: To Fee or Not to Fee: That is the Question.  Where do you weigh in?  


Picture: Toronto Star - Eco-fee agency says levies could be buried in price