A newly proposed five percent tax increase to a 15 percent special tax on recreational marijuana sales could provide tax relief on business personal property for small businesses, reports The Denver Post. Currently, legal cannabis purchases are taxed with the standard 2.9 percent sales tax and an additional 10 percent special marijuana tax.
“I think that a lot of people think that marijuana taxes are just a budget solver for the entire state of Colorado,” said House Majority Leader KC Becker, according to The Denver Post. “I think a lot of people in Colorado who are involved in small businesses think that the business personal property tax is cumbersome and confusing. So I think this is a good marriage between meeting a lot of needs and expectations.”
The current 10 percent special tax on recreational cannabis purchases was established after voters approved Proposition AA in 2013. The wording of the bill designated the funds raised from taxing legal cannabis sales would go towards regulating and monitoring the industry. Some critics of the proposed raise question the direction of funds from the fledgling legal cannabis industry towards other business tax breaks.
“Marijuana businesses are already generating hundreds of millions of dollars,” Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mason Tvert told The Denver Post. “It seems unfair to increase taxes on marijuana consumers to cover a tax break for unrelated businesses.”
