It’s stealing from the people who actually paid the bottle deposits and stealing from the taxpayers who must make up the difference. This should be obvious.
That’s what the government says. It’s actually the government doing the stealing. And then imposing remarkably draconian penalties for someone who wants to trade goods for money; never mind police arresting people for merely transporting bottles, of all things. No reason for the government to be in this business in the first place, unless they are looking to act like thugs.