California: Santa Barbara County’s cannabis tax revenue continues to rise

The Lompoc Record writes..

The trend of increasing revenues from cannabis taxes is continuing in Santa Barbara County, according to a second quarter report to be delivered Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.

During the second quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal year, cannabis tax revenue was $2.6 million, according to the report prepared by Brittany Heaton, principal cannabis analyst, and Steven Yee, fiscal and policy analyst.

In the second quarter last fiscal year, the revenue was $2 million, and in 2018-19, the first year of legal recreational cannabis in California, the tax revenue for the county was $1.8 million.

That roughly mirrors the trend from the first quarter revenues, which started at $1.8 million in 2018-19, rose to $2.8 million in 2019-20 and jumped to $4.2 million in 2020-21.

If the trend of steady increases continues through the third and fourth quarters this fiscal year, it could provide ammunition for supervisors who would like to see the cannabis income considered ongoing revenue allocated to specific county services.

In fact, the midyear financial report delivered to supervisors last Tuesday estimated cannabis tax revenue for the year will be $3.4 million more than anticipated when the 2020-21 budget was prepared.

By county voter mandate, cannabis tax revenues are first applied to cover the cost of administering county cannabis regulations, assuring compliance and conducting enforcement operations.

More at  https://lompocrecord.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/santa-barbara-county-s-cannabis-tax-revenue-continues-to-rise/article_b25fcc7a-0989-5e52-b272-7c360534ac45.html

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