Returnable pallet coalition scores first legislative win
By Staff -- Logistics Management, 11/1/1999
A campaign to eliminate sales taxes on rentals of returnable pallets and containers has scored a major victory. Last month, California Gov. Gray Davis signed into a law a bill to remove sales taxes on the rental of those pallets and containers in the agriculture industry in his state.The Reusable Pallet and Container Coalition (RPCC), based in Washington, D.C., had promoted the legislation in California by arguing that the imposition of a sales tax on such rentals encouraged an increase in solid waste. RPCC, which promotes the use of returnable systems, consists of a dozen members, most of which are manufacturers and renters of reusable pallets and containers.
The group contends that returnable pallets are an environmentally friendly and recyclable alternative to the traditional wooden pallets and containers that end up buried in landfills. "There's no sales tax on purchasing a cheap, use-it-once-and-throw-it-away pallet or cardboard box," says RPCC spokesman Scott Cameron. "The state sales tax was promoting the disposal of solid waste. The states should try solving environmental problems, not exacerbate them," he added.
Earlier this year, at the coalition's request, Florida tax officials removed the sales tax on reusable pallets and containers. "The Florida tax law," Cameron explains, "was written broadly enough that the state tax bureaucracy had enough discretion to solve the problem administratively."
Cameron says his group will turn its attention to the 20 or so other states that impose similar sales taxes. He reports that Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are the coalition's top priorities for corrective legislation.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
