In an attempt to jolt revenue into a $18.5 million budget deficit, the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider placing a tax on medical marijuana sales made by local collectives.
The issue has been introduced by Director of Financial Management Lori Ann Farrell, who proposed instituting a 5-percent tax on sales. If recreational marijuana use is approved by voters this November, Farrell also proposed a 5-10-percent tax on other marijuana sales, according to Press-Telegram reporter Paul Eakins.
Eakins says that similar ideas are in place in cities like Oakland, but with key differences:
Oakland, which was the first U.S. city to tax medical marijuana collectives, raised $23,608 in 2008 with a tax rate of $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts, Farrell said. Voters there approved increasing the tax rate to $18 per $1,000 in July 2009, which was estimated to raise $294,000.
At $18 per $1,000 of gross revenue, that's only a 1.8 percent tax rate, much less than the one proposed for Long Beach.
The City Council approved a medical marijuana ordinance in March establishing operating rules for local collectives, loosely modeled on a similar ordinance adopted by the city of Los Angeles.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: LBPOST.com
Author: Ryan ZumMallen
Contact: LBPOST.com
Copyright: 2010 LBPOST.com
Website: Long Beach Could Place 5% Tax On Marijuana Sales
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The issue has been introduced by Director of Financial Management Lori Ann Farrell, who proposed instituting a 5-percent tax on sales. If recreational marijuana use is approved by voters this November, Farrell also proposed a 5-10-percent tax on other marijuana sales, according to Press-Telegram reporter Paul Eakins.
Eakins says that similar ideas are in place in cities like Oakland, but with key differences:
Oakland, which was the first U.S. city to tax medical marijuana collectives, raised $23,608 in 2008 with a tax rate of $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts, Farrell said. Voters there approved increasing the tax rate to $18 per $1,000 in July 2009, which was estimated to raise $294,000.
At $18 per $1,000 of gross revenue, that's only a 1.8 percent tax rate, much less than the one proposed for Long Beach.
The City Council approved a medical marijuana ordinance in March establishing operating rules for local collectives, loosely modeled on a similar ordinance adopted by the city of Los Angeles.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: LBPOST.com
Author: Ryan ZumMallen
Contact: LBPOST.com
Copyright: 2010 LBPOST.com
Website: Long Beach Could Place 5% Tax On Marijuana Sales
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
