Local authorities would make a profit from proposed tax

A plastic bag tax could generate huge annual revenues in Scotland, according to parliamentarian Mike Pringle. He calculates a 10p tax on bags, for Edinburgh alone, would raise Ј520,338 net income in the first year of operation, after set-up costs have been deducted, and then Ј807,656 a year after that. A report in the Edinburgh Evening News quoted Pringle as saying: "Every council would make a profit out of this scheme, even in the first year."

Pringle has made the calculations after the Scottish Executive’s environment committee asked him to provide more information on his proposed tax, addressing “the lack of robust evidence about the net environmental impact of the bill and the likely administrative costs for retailers and local authorities” (PRW.com 6 December 2005). Peter Woodall, a spokesman for the industry-backed Carrier Bag Consortium, said: “We are surprised he feels this is ‘robust evidence’, as there is nothing new in it.”