Cannabis Tax Intel

OCA Don’t Like New Oregon Cannabis Tax Proposals!

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2023

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Here’s an alert they sent out this week

ACTION ALERT:

Oregon HB 2505 (Sales Tax Increase)

is scheduled for a vote Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 1:00pm

Act now to help defeat this destructive bill!

Oregon House Bill 2505 poses an existential threat to Oregon’s cannabis industry. If passed into law it will allow localities to raise the cannabis sales tax an additional 7% (a 35% increase) up to a total cannabis sales tax rate of 27%.

As you all know a 27% sales tax will cause immense damage to our industry. Despite the harm it will cause us, there is a strong and concerted legislative campaign behind the bill.

We can defeat this bill but Oregon’s Cannabis industry must act fast and and make a strong unified show of force! Last year we were able to defeat a similar bill 3 times but to it took hundreds of cannabis industry folks writing letters, calling, and submitting public comments to legislators.

So please get engaged now and make your voice heard!

How you can help defeat 2505:

1st – Sign the petition against this bill. Over 2600 hundred of you have already signed the petition – THANK YOU – but we need as many signatures as possible. So if you have not signed sign it and if you have see below!

2nd – Share the petition on your social media and with your coworkers, colleagues, customers, friends and families. Every signature helps, all cannabis lovers should sign!

3rd – Retailers, help collect customer signatures. Retailers, please download and post our petition flyer with QR code for your customers to add their name to the petition. Download – Retailer Petition – NO HB 2505.

4th – Submit your personal testimony against HB 2505 – Everyone who is able should make their individual voice heard and submit their own written testimony before noon on Tuesday. We have provide testimony templates below to make it very easy.

**If you want to testify in person at the hearing on the 28th at 1:00 pm email me – jesse@ciaoforegon.org.**

5th – Work with us to lobby the legislature – The fight for fair taxes and good policy for the cannabis industry goes beyond this bill. This is a fight we have fought legislative session after legislative session and we will need help beyond stopping this bill. If you want to get more engaged with our legislative efforts email me ASAP whether you are a member or not – jesse@ciaoforegon.org.

Testimony Templates:

Messaging examples that show how easy it is to let the State Government know how you feel about HB 2505:

If you copy and paste please be sure to add in your own personal information in the correct spots. If you write your own messaging please make sure it is clear, direct, passionate, and respectful.

Example A: My name is [NAME] and I’m writing to ask that you to oppose HB 2505 and don’t let it move forward. Increased sales taxes will only hurt my business adding more financial stress in an already horrible market. My company [NAME] in [PLACE] employs [#] and I am proud of that but I am scared that if this passes I would have to lay folks off to absorb the costs. Simply, this bill would make it harder for us to be price competitive with the illicit market, create more finical instability for my business, and hurt my ability to innovate and expand.

Please oppose any new cannabis sales taxes or tax increases. It’s just not the Oregon way.

[Signature]

Example B: My name is [NAME] and I’m writing to urge you to oppose HB 2505, a sales tax that will decrease consumer choice by financially pressuring small businesses. In [PLACE] where I live I can trust that cannabis products are tested, labeled, tracked and legal. I’d like these things to continue to be true!

Please oppose any sales taxes or tax increases. It’s just not the Oregon way.

[Signature]

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Cannabis Tax Intel

Maryland: Senate recreational cannabis bill differs from House bill over taxes

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

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WBAL TV

The Senate’s bill to map out the legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland differs greatly from the House proposal over taxes.

Legislation making recreational cannabis legal in Maryland still has a long way to go in a relatively short period of time. And, changes made by the Senate Finance Committee could set up a showdown between the House and Senate.

But legislative leaders put an optimistic spin on the changes, calling the differences minor and will be easy to resolve.

“This is one of those bills that everyone has just one more idea. So, the faster we can get to a place of resolution, I think will be better for everyone,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-District 46.

Early this month, the House gave preliminary approval to House Bill 556, which would tax and regulate marijuana.

Under the Senate version, Senate Bill 516, it would cost Marylanders more to recreational marijuana use. The sales tax would go up from 6% to a 9% flat tax, and local governments would be allowed to tack on an additional 3% sales tax.

“While it’s not perfect, I think it offers enough good points for us to be able to move the bill forward,” said Sen. Clarence Lam, D-District 12, whose district encompasses portions of Anne Arundel and Howard counties.

Under the House bill, cannabis would be taxed at 6% for the first year and increase by 1% each year until 2018. It would be capped at 10%.

The Senate bill would still allow people to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, and current medical cannabis businesses would be allowed to convert their licenses to recreational before July 1.

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Cannabis Tax Intel

New law could increase taxes on cannabis sales in Montana

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

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BILLINGS, Mont. — In the state legislature cannabis is once again taking center stage. This year, a proposed bill is seeking to undo almost all of the policy changes that were voted into effect by Montanans.

If this Bill were to pass, it would have a major impact on those who not only use cannabis recreationally but also impact the business owners and employees of Montana’s dispensaries. Zack Schopp, owner of Seed of Life Labs in Billings said the ripple effects of a law like this — would go beyond the marijuana industry.

“It’s detrimental to the business, to the employees of those businesses, to those government regulators who are employed, to the contractors of the building, to the real estate agents that are selling property. All of that economic opportunity that’s been created from cannabis is at stake with a Bill like that, there are over 5,000 Montanans who have jobs in the cannabis industry here, you know, what am I supposed to say to them if this goes through,” said Schopp

His business is just one of more than 40 dispensaries in the area according to the department of revenue, Yellowstone County generated an estimated $4,000,000.00 in Tax revenue in February of 2023.

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Cannabis Tax Intel

New Jersey Moves to Remove State’s 280E Tax Code

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

admin

Via Cannabis Industry Jnl – very intreresting development as and when Murphy signs off on it

The New Jersey legislature recently approved legislation that would allow licensed cannabis businesses to deduct ordinary business expenses on their state tax return that they are prohibited from deducting on their federal tax return, and such legislation has been sent to Governor Phil Murphy to potentially sign into law. This relates to the universally dreaded (among those in the cannabis industry, at least) Section 280E prohibition. This legislation is important because it would change current law to allow legal cannabis businesses in New Jersey to operate on more of a level playing field with other businesses in the state.

Cannabis operators and applicants are penalized by their inability to deduct certain expenses on their state and federal tax returns. The cause for this frustration is twofold. First, under federal law, cannabis is considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 (CSA). Second, under IRS Tax Code Section 280E, cannabis businesses that are legal under state law are still considered drug traffickers for the purposes of federal tax law. While a related issue that is often considered along with Section 280E is whether or not it is sound public policy to continue to classify cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, that is beyond the scope of this article.

While New Jersey’s legislators can’t change federal tax code, they are taking action to revise New Jersey’s tax code to level the playing field. Let’s hope the Governor signs into law the pending New Jersey legislation to decouple New Jersey’s tax law from Section 280E.

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