Cannabis growers came out in full force to the Monterey County Cannabis Committee on May 7 with one message: cut the county’s cannabis tax or the industry could go up in smoke.
Many were back on May 22 before the Board of Supervisors to make the plea yet again to cut the tax rate as low as possible, in order to be competitive with other counties with rates lower than Monterey County’s current $15-per-square-foot of canopy.
This time they had stiff competition from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and both District Attorney Dean Flippo and Assistant DA Jeannine Pacioni. (Pacioni is on the June 5 ballot as the lone candidate to replace Flippo, who is retiring.)
They argued the tax rate needed to stay high in order to cover the cost of law enforcement to eradicate black market growers who could undercut legal operations.
Supervisors were split on the decision 3-2, but the new rate as of July 1 will be significantly lower: $5 per square foot for greenhouse cannabis grows and $8 per square foot for indoor grows.
“This is a win-win to the county, jobs and our cannabis businesses who have invested here,” Board Chair Luis Alejo says. “It’s a fast-changing market and we have to make necessary adjustments.”
He also says increases in the tax rate will come in the future, if the industry is successful in the next few years.
“I want our story to be in two or three years that we made the right decisions and that we continue to be a cannabis success story in the state."
(4) comments
Bait and switch politics for drug dealers. Drug dealers knew the rules when they signed their applications. Here they are asking that the rules be changed because they can’t make enough money pushing mind altering substances to show a profit. When will the rest of us tax payers (property owners for example) get a tax break to make things fair? Policitcans villanize cigarette smokers but embrace pot users by lowering the price for drug users. Think about this people when you vote.
Charles, the important difference is cigarettes kill. Marijuana helps in so many ways medically and doesn’t kill.
With a divided opinion like this among the Supervisors on an issue with important fiscal implications and an election in the offing, the citizens need a report of the roll call.
Agreed
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