Hong Kong Considers Plastic Bag Tax

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

24 March 2005

Hong Kong's Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung said the government is considering introducing a $1 tax on plastic bags in order to control waste and litter.

"We have to ensure that all bags are taxed and the funds received would be used for environmental promotions," Dr Liao said. "The tax needs to be about $1 for it to be effective."

The government says that Hong Kong gets through 33 million bags every day, weighing 1,064 tonnes. The tax being considered would be paid by wholesalers, and retailers would only be allowed to give out plastic bags if a customer asks for them and pays the tax.

A number of countries have considered and rejected a plastic bag tax, but in Ireland it has been a great success. The 15 cent levy was introduced in March 2002 in order to combat the rising tide of plastic bags littering the Republic's countryside and roads, and reportedly reduced their usage by around 90%, in addition to raising an extra 8 million euros annually in revenue for the government.

Dr Liao said that there was no timetable yet for the introduction of the tax, which is still under study.

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