Colorado Lawmakers approve 25 percent marijuana tax

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23536

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http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...asses-house-bill-1318s-25-marijuana-sales-tax

DENVER - Colorado state Senators gave final approval Wednesday to add two Colorado taxes to marijuana sales. After House members agreed to some changes, the bill was sent to the governor.

The Senate voted 25-10 to approve a 15 percent excise tax, to be used for school construction, and a 10 percent special state sales tax, to pay for regulation and enforcement, to recreational marijuana sales when it begins in January. That's in addition to the 2.9 percent state sales tax and any local taxes added by the county/city where the marijuana is sold.

Republicans said that the pot tax rate may be too high.

Democrats argue that Coloradans want marijuana taxed steeply, and that the high tax rate is in line with other sin taxes such as tobacco taxes and gaming taxes.

If the governor signs the bill, as expected, the tax is not final. Voters will get the final say in November.

cont. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...asses-house-bill-1318s-25-marijuana-sales-tax
 
that's one thing i really don't like about legalization, the fact the gov't will tax it to death. You can still grow 6 plants in your house though, so i guess it's not a big deal? I wonder if they mean mature plants, kind of hard to keep a steady supply with just 6 plants in total. If the prices from from the legal market are too high, there'll still be a black market or grey market.
 
Relevant reading for anyone interested in the policy:

Marijuana taxes as a cash cow? Think again

tl;dr - States original estimates of tax revenue to be gained from legalization were not accurate. In one case, projected revenue wasn't even enough to cover the cost of regulation the industry, causing a net deficit. This is not taking into account the revenue gained from having to house less prisoners as well as spending less money on law enforcement.

Clocktower said:
Do we still have to call them "sin taxes?" 8)
Click to expand...

It is a term people know and understand. You don't have to be a Christian or religious at all to understand the concept of "sin". It is a commonly understood idea in America, even if you are an atheist.
 
Prices shouldn't really change that much for the average smoker. There is already a hefty mark up due to the illegal black market, you can't tell me it costs hundreds of dollars more to produce weed than any other crop. Legalisation should drop prices with the difference being filled in with the tax. The public will hardly be priced out of enjoying having a smoke, it just means the government will take its fair share of the current hefty profit to pay for mental health and likely slight increase in road accidents.
 
In Canada medical marijuana was priced at $5/gram (not sure now as the mmj system is fucked up here now) and i guess that was sufficient to cover their costs (no bulk deals but it was still cheap). I know no pricing on here but in the states, i've heard from many people that just a gram gets sold for 2-3x what we pay on the black market here in Canada and 4-6x what a gram would cost from the government. That's just by the gram, when you go bulk it gets insanely cheap.

Canada still exports cannabis to the US and if medicinal cannabis prices are as high as they are now in the US and continue to be that way, then Canada's exports will cost far less, especially in bulk creating a lucrative market for cross border trading, even if it ends up being sold to a dispensary or something.
 
RobotRipping said:
In Canada medical marijuana was priced at $5/gram (not sure now as the mmj system is fucked up here now) and i guess that was sufficient to cover their costs (no bulk deals but it was still cheap). I know no pricing on here but in the states, i've heard from many people that just a gram gets sold for 2-3x what we pay on the black market here in Canada and 4-6x what a gram would cost from the government. That's just by the gram, when you go bulk it gets insanely cheap.

Canada still exports cannabis to the US and if medicinal cannabis prices are as high as they are now in the US and continue to be that way, then Canada's exports will cost far less, especially in bulk creating a lucrative market for cross border trading, even if it ends up being sold to a dispensary or something.
Click to expand...

the average person generally pays 3-5 times that in states where marijuana is illegal, such as in the south. Creating a medical program or legalizing would drastically reduce the price, even with taxes, it would be a lot more affordable.
 
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