Montgomery Co. to Hold Hearing on Bag Tax Changes

The Montgomery County Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on proposed changes to the county's 5-cent tax on carryout bags.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday evening in Rockville and was organized by councilman Roger Berliner.

The bag tax, which went into effect last year, is now in place for most retail stores and carryout food. The changes would make the tax apply only to food stores, which are defined as any retail store where food consists of more than 2 percent of gross sales by dollar value.

The changes would repeal the tax on plastic bags used for take-out food as well as retail stores like Nordstrom.

Berliner, who initially supported the bag tax, now wants to amend it.

"We're one of the only communities in the country to include retail stores as opposed to focusing on grocery stores," Berliner said.

The bag tax has raised approximately $3 million in the past year.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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