IBWA, other groups poised to sue Chicago over Bottled Water Tax

CHICAGO — Food and beverage industry groups, including the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), have joined together and are poised to file a lawsuit against the city of Chicago over a tax that will be levied on bottled water beginning January 1, according to a December 27 article in the Chicago Tribune.

The alliance also includes the American Beverage Association, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and the Illinois Food Retailers Association.

The groups say the tax will drive business out of Chicago, jeopardizing 4,500 jobs and $270 million in wages that Chicagoans earn who work in the bottled water industry, according to the article.

Retailers, part of the alliance expected to file the suit in early January, state that the tax will add about 30 percent to the overall cost of a case of bottled water, sales of which comprise about 90 percent of bottled water sales in the city. The “regressive tax” could drive shoppers away from bottled water purchases, Dave Vite, Illinois Retail Merchants Association CEO, said in the article.

Illinois Beverage Association Executive Director Tim Bramlet said in the article that the lawsuit, which will be filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims the tax is illegal based on existing statutes that prohibit the state from singling out a specific food product with a specialized tax, the Tribune reported.

Resource: WaterTech