Courthouse News Service Reports
In recent weeks Governor Gavin Newsom and multiple lawmakers have expressed support for easing the tax burden on California’s cannabis growers and retailers. The industry says high taxes are killing jobs and propping the black market.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Coming to the aid of California’s legal marijuana growers and sellers, state Democrats are preparing to prescribe the struggling industry with an old-fashioned dose of tax relief.
Weeks after cannabis business leaders gathered on the steps of the state Capitol and threatened a coordinated pullout of California’s $4.4 billion legal market, a pair of lawmakers on Wednesday detailed potential tax reforms and promised to crack down on the black market.
“We definitely have to take action so that the cannabis industry thrives and really benefits all workers and organizations,” said Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park. “We need a competitive price structure in California.”
Retail marijuana shops opened their doors in 2018 but the industry’s growth — and tax generation — have fallen well short of projections sold to voters under Proposition 64. Currently there are under 1,000 legal dispensaries in the Golden State, a precipitous drop from the nearly 10,000 in operation in 2018.
Critics blame the drop in new business on myriad reasons, from stringent taxes, local prohibitions on legal pot and the booming black market. Industry leaders say the problems have led to high prices for consumers and stymied the once fledgling industry.
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