Tax would help clean up water
By Stacey Creasy
Bremen and Bourbon�s man in the Statehouse, Representa-tive Bill Friend, is the key legislator behind a move to tax bottled water in order to improve the environment.
Friend has introduced his bill to place an excise tax of two-cents a liter on bottled water sales in Indiana.
There are lawmakers behind the bill and legislators opposed to it. Indiana does not currently tax grocery items, but Friend said this tax is going to a good cause � to help ensure Hoosiers have safe drinking water for dec-ades to come.
The money from the tax will be used to pay for clean
water projects in the state.
Kosciusko County conservationist Garry Tom is one area official who supports the move. Tom says the bottled water excise tax would generate $5-8 million dollars per year thanks to the popularity of bottled water.
Given the sluggish economy, there is not a big push to hand over money for environmental programs.
Ifthe bill is passed and goes into effect in July, Indiana could begin to collect the tax in 2004.
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