Thursday’s debut of recreational marijuana sales in Paterson won’t generate any additional money for city government.
Reports NJ.com
That’s because municipal officials never adopted an ordinance imposing a local tax on recreational cannabis purchases.
Exactly how much money Paterson will be losing is hard to say. The city currently gets about $20,000 per month in taxes on the sale of medicinal marijuana, officials said.
City officials last summer said Paterson could reap as much as $1.5 million per year in recreational marijuana taxes. But that estimate was based on as many as 36 businesses opening, including entities cultivating, wholesaling and marketing marijuana.
“You’ve got my blood boiling,” Councilman Al Abdelaziz said when asked about Paterson dropping the ball on the marijuana taxes. “I’m trying to fix this as soon as possible so we don’t lose any more revenue.”
Abdelaziz said he was working with City Council President Maritza Davila and the municipal law department to expedite an ordinance that would put in place local taxes on the recreational marijuana. Davila said the council would address the cannabis tax void in the “near future.”
Starting at 6 a.m. on Thursday, the RISE dispensary on Route 20 in Paterson, which has been selling medicinal cannabis since December 2019, will expand its operation to include recreational marijuana sales, officials said. The Paterson business will be one of about 13 in New Jersey kicking off the legalized sales of recreational marijuana.
Read more at https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2022/04/19/paterson-nj-legal-weed-tax-not-adopted/7370087001/
