Santos uncorks tax on bottled water

Democratic Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos has introduced House Bill 3120 to tax bottled water and spend the money on public health services.

Under the bill, the tax rate would be .00296 cents per ounce of bottled water. My calculations, with some outside help, mean this will be about a penny for every 3 ounces or a dime per liter.

How much would this net? The Department of Revenue has estimated a penny per ounce of bottled water would generate about $135 million a year. There’s a spreadsheet of DOR estimates for all types of taxes attached to this story.

The tax on bottled water would be paid by the wholesaler of the product.

Proceeds collected by the state would go into a new public health services account “for the purpose of funding local health jurisdictions to conduct core public health functions of statewide significance,” according to the bill.