As editor of The D.C. Council voted to put a 5 cent tax on plastic bags yesterday. Do newspapers, like The Washington Post, have to pay the tax -- or give up plastic sleeves?
The answer is no, according to Andrew Alexander, the Post's ombudsman. He writes in his blog today that the sleeves are "safe" from the D.C. plastic tax.
This despite the fact that the Post "has written several editorials supporting the nickel tax, including one that ran several days before a hearing on the legislation in early April," he writes.
Alexander notes that some opponents of the tax felt it was hypocritical of the newspaper to support a tax, while at the same time using plastic bags to protect its morning newspapers from the weather.
Do you think?
Other bags exempt from the tax: Door-hanger bags; dry cleaning bags; packages of bags intended for use in holding garbage, pet waste, or yard waste; bags provided by pharmacists for prescription drugs; bags used by consumers inside stores to package bulk items such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy, or small hardware items; bags to wrap frozen foods, meat or fish, flowers or potted plants, or other items where dampness may be a problem; and bags to carry unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods.