, will also create tax credits for some cannabis businesses, expand labor rights within the industry and switch collection of a state excise tax from distributors to retailers. That tax will pause at 15% for three years, after which regulators could raise the rate to recoup lost revenue from discontinuing the cultivation tax.
“I’m incredibly proud of this bill. It accomplishes an incredible amount of things for the betterment of all Californians,” Nicole Elliott, director of the Department of Cannabis Control and Newsom’s top cannabis adviser, told CalMatters. “So I think we need to take a moment to reflect on the fact that something great got done.
Supporters hope that eliminating the cultivation tax could have a beneficial ripple effect through the legal market, lowering costs that compound for consumers through the wholesale price, the excise tax and sales taxes. Coleman pointed to other major regulatory expenses for growers, including licensing fees and environmental compliance requirements. She also wants the state to play a larger role in opening up retail opportunities that“It’s not enough at all. And it’s just simple math,” she said. “Our position has always been: We need tax reformJenkins, the industry lobbyist, said the three-year pause on the excise tax rate buys advocates more time to press their case.
The deal will allow equity licensees to get a $10,000 tax credit and keep a fifth of the excise tax revenue they collect for the next few years. But advocates had lobbied for more sweeping aid, such as a suspension of the excise tax altogether, to give their businesses a greater opportunity to establish a foothold.
Tax could be pegged to THC %, a measure patterned off of alcohol's ABV. Combined with a VAT method, where price includes sales tax, it would let the people themselves determine how much they want to pay per N'th unit size.
Changing the verbiage again? “Social equity operators” instead of “social justice warriors” now? Hard to keep up with all the newspeak
Pausing it doesn’t sound like cutting it