, in association with the Cannabis Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, published their latest in a series of working papers demonstrating the need for immediate intervention in excise tax policy for Canadian cannabis.
Firms cultivating and processing cannabis in the Canadian industry are likely ~98% absent self sustaining breakeven income. Two thirds of reporting entities owe CRA an exponentially widening outstanding debt. 47% of all CCAA filings in the first six months of 2022 came from the cannabis industry. These financial metrics demonstrate the desperate reality of material overtaxation, with end consumers paying well over half of their retail price to federal excise and provincial markups.
“Canada’s excise tax regime is inefficient and imposes significant administrative and economic burdens on businesses who operate across Canada, particularly small scale cultivators and processors,” said Michael Harvey, VP of Policy and International for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “The legal sector therefore risks being uncompetitive with the illegal market given that these illicit businesses are not required to pay the cost of compliance.