Congress is considering an excise tax that would be levied on plastic resin used to make a variety of everyday products. The REDUCE Act, sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), would impose a tax of $.20/lb. on businesses that manufacture or import more than 10 tons per year of virgin plastic resin. The proposal applies an excise tax at the point of manufacture of virgin plastic resin and the intent appears to be to tax “single use plastic,” but unfortunately it would also tax resins that are not used to manufacture “single use plastic.”
The tax would increase every year, rising to $0.24/lb. by 2034 and $0.36/lb. by 2050. Post-consumer recycled resin is excluded, as are certain products such as pharmaceuticals and infant formula. A rebate would be available for plastic resin that is not used in a single-use plastic product.
