A container deposit scheme from the Government would just function as a new tax, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “This scheme will have no appreciable effect on recycling rates, but is guaranteed to financially punish consumers by increasing the upfront cost of a drink. It’s just another case of the Government lecturing New Zealanders via the tax system, and it will be low-income families who are hardest hit.”

“How many busy families that don’t already recycle will really get into the habit of stashing smelly bottles around the house until they’ve got enough to justify a trip to the dump, all for a few bucks?”

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