An Act To Provide Funding for Landfills by Imposing a Gift Package Surcharge
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §2144 is enacted to read:
§ 2144. Gift package surcharge; landfill fund
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Gift package" means a box or other container with a capacity exceeding 110 cubic inches provided by a retail store to a retail customer to package an item purchased by the customer as a gift.
B. "Retail store" means a place of business in this State that sells products to retail customers and has a retail floor space exceeding 8,000 square feet.
2. Gift package surcharge. There is established a gift package surcharge of $2 per gift package. The gift package surcharge must be collected by the retail store from the retail customer. The amount of the surcharge must be separately stated on an invoice, receipt or similar document that is provided to the customer. The surcharge is the liability of the customer, except that the owner of the retail store is liable to remit all surcharges that the retail store collects as provided in this subsection. The amount of the surcharge that is collected by a retail store may not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee, surcharge or other charge that is imposed by this State, any political subdivision of this State or any intergovernmental agency. The surcharges collected by a retail store must be remitted to the Treasurer of State at the times and in the manner provided for the remittance of sales taxes under Title 36, section 1951-A and rules adopted pursuant to that section for the remittance of sales taxes on other than a monthly basis. The State Tax Assessor shall establish registration and payment procedures that substantially coincide with registration and payment procedures as provided in Title 36, section 1754-B and related provisions. The Treasurer of State shall ensure that all remitted surcharges are deposited in the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund established in section 2201.
summary
This bill requires a retail store with over 8,000 square feet of retail floor space to collect a surcharge of $2 on each gift package provided to its retail customers. The surcharge is remitted to the State to support the Department of Environmental Protection's remediation and closure program for solid waste landfills.