Taking a bath on water tax

[Mugu]

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Are Chicagoans trekking to the suburbs to buy cases of bottled water -- and avoid a new nickel-a-container tax that adds $1.20 to the price of a 24-pack? Or are they making the switch to tap water to save money?

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Revenues from Chicago's new bottled water tax are trickling in -- at a rate nearly 40 percent below projections -- exacerbating a budget crunch that has already prompted Mayor Daley to order $20 million in spending cuts.

January collections were $554,000. That's far short of the $875,000-a-month needed to meet the city's $10.5 million-a-year projection.

snip

But that doesn't explain away what Vite calls "enormous increases" in suburban bottled water sales, particularly in stores near the Chicago border.


Complete article at:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/861008,CST-NWS-water26.article

Guess they should have done as the mayor wanted and charged a dime a bottle rather than a nickel.

[orangerevolution]

1. What would have charging a dime accomplished? n/t