Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The Oregon Legislature is considering imposing up to a 20 percent sales tax on retail sales of marijuana once it becomes available to consumers.
Proposed amendments to House Bill 2041, allowing localities to prohibit marijuana facilities within 1,000 feet of schools, would impose a 17 percent state tax on retail sales of marijuana products, from buds to candies.
The latest amendments to the main bill, HB 3400, laying out regulations for legal marijuana in Oregon under the ballot measure enacted by voters last fall, would allow cities and counties to charge a 3 percent tax, if local voters approve.
Scott Winkels, lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, said they were happy the Legislature gave localities authority to charge a tax - Measure 91 gave only the state authority to tax, with some of the revenues shared with localities - but the league would like to see the amount increased once retail marijuana is up and running and there is a better idea of how much revenue it is generating.
"But having it on the books, we think, is a huge win," he said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, co-chair of the joint committee implementing Measure 91, said the tax rates were chosen to keep Oregon cannabis prices lower than competitors in Washington state and Colorado, to keep prices low enough that consumers won't go to the black market, and to generate about the same amount of revenue as the original taxes charged growers in Measure 91.
By comparison, the tax on cigarettes is 65 percent of wholesale, and liquor is about 100 percent of wholesale.
Since Measure 91 passed in November, making marijuana legal for recreational purposes, the Legislature has been working on changing some key provisions. The sales tax was settled on as a way to allow medical marijuana growers to grow for retail sales without having to pay the tax at the production level included in Measured 91.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oregon eyes 20% tax on marijuana retail sales | The Columbian
Author: The Associated Press
Contact: metrodesk@columbian.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Columbian - Serving Clark County, Washington
Proposed amendments to House Bill 2041, allowing localities to prohibit marijuana facilities within 1,000 feet of schools, would impose a 17 percent state tax on retail sales of marijuana products, from buds to candies.
The latest amendments to the main bill, HB 3400, laying out regulations for legal marijuana in Oregon under the ballot measure enacted by voters last fall, would allow cities and counties to charge a 3 percent tax, if local voters approve.
Scott Winkels, lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, said they were happy the Legislature gave localities authority to charge a tax - Measure 91 gave only the state authority to tax, with some of the revenues shared with localities - but the league would like to see the amount increased once retail marijuana is up and running and there is a better idea of how much revenue it is generating.
"But having it on the books, we think, is a huge win," he said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, co-chair of the joint committee implementing Measure 91, said the tax rates were chosen to keep Oregon cannabis prices lower than competitors in Washington state and Colorado, to keep prices low enough that consumers won't go to the black market, and to generate about the same amount of revenue as the original taxes charged growers in Measure 91.
By comparison, the tax on cigarettes is 65 percent of wholesale, and liquor is about 100 percent of wholesale.
Since Measure 91 passed in November, making marijuana legal for recreational purposes, the Legislature has been working on changing some key provisions. The sales tax was settled on as a way to allow medical marijuana growers to grow for retail sales without having to pay the tax at the production level included in Measured 91.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oregon eyes 20% tax on marijuana retail sales | The Columbian
Author: The Associated Press
Contact: metrodesk@columbian.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Columbian - Serving Clark County, Washington
