Red Headed Blackbelt
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a sweeping plan to restructure the county’s cannabis tax system, voting to write off millions of dollars in delinquent debt and eliminate controversial “true-up” minimum payments,.
The 3-2 decision followed a heated debate over fiscal responsibility and the survival of the county’s legal cannabis industry. The board authorized writing off all cannabis business taxes from the 2018-19 cycle as uncollectible, as well as delinquent taxes owed from 2020 through 2024 by cultivators who have since left the program.
Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison told the board that while the total amount of delinquent taxes from inactive participants is unknown, it could exceed $2 million. Cubbison argued that pursuing the debt is not a “viable option” because the tax collection system was never equipped for standard debt collection, lacking social security numbers and dates of birth for many permit holders who do not own the property where they cultivated. The system also has not been tracking the total amount owed.
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