Plastic Bag Tax Comes To Fredericksburg On January 1

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A tax on disposable plastic bags is coming to the City of Fredericksburg, starting on Jan. 1. The tax of five cents per bag will be charged to shoppers at checkout at grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores.

The tax was approved by the Fredericksburg City Council earlier in the year. Last year, the Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation that allows individual jurisdictions to charge a tax on plastic bags.

The tax, which will be collected at the point of purchase like a sales tax, will be administered and enforced by the Virginia Tax Commissioner in Richmond.

Officials said the decision to adopt the plastic bag tax was inspired by the city council's desired state of a clean and green environment. "Fredericksburg is a responsible, modern city with a quality of life that is guaranteed by thoughtful environmental stewardship," is the city council's goal, officials said in a news release on Thursday.

The tax will not apply to the following items:

• Durable plastic bags meant for multiple reuse
• Bags that are solely used to wrap ice cream, meat, fish, poultry, produce, unwrapped bulk food items or other perishable food items in order to avoid damage or contamination
• Plastic bags used for dry cleaning or prescription drugs
• Bags that are packaged and sold for use as garbage, pet waste or leaf-removal bags

"Retailers will be compensated for the costs of collecting and remitting the tax by retaining a portion of the tax collected," city officials said in a news release on Thursday. "Until January 1, 2023, retailers subject to the tax will be able to retain 2 cents for every 5 cents collected. After January 1, 2023, this discount will be reduced to 1 cent per bag."

State law outlines specific uses for the revenue created by the plastic bag tax. Revenue must be used for environmental cleanup, providing education programs designed to reduce environmental waste, mitigating pollution and litter, and providing reusable bags to SNAP and WIC recipients.