SFGate: California lawmakers show rare unity in granting cannabis tax cut

EXCERPT:

Lawmakers gave final approval to the bill last week, sending the measure to the desk of Newsom, who has previously committed to signing it into law. The measure would drop the state excise tax on cannabis from 19% to 15% on Oct. 1 and maintain that tax rate until June 30, 2028.

Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, the executive director for the California Cannabis Operators Association, said in a statement that the organization is “deeply grateful” to the Legislature for passing the law, which she said would strengthen the legal market.

“This vote saves thousands of jobs and prevents hundreds of small businesses from closing their doors,” O’Gorman Jenkins said in an email.

The measure comes as tax rates for legal cannabis in California seesaw up and down. In July, the state increased the excise rate from 15% to 19% due to a 2022 law that required the increase. Newsom and lawmakers scrambled to avert that earlier tax hike but failed to get enough votes to approve the measure before the rate hike went into effect. 

The legal cannabis industry has long blamed cannabis tax rates, which are considerably higher than tax rates on other goods like alcohol or cigarettes, for fueling the illicit cannabis market by making legal weed stores more expensive than unlicensed sellers. 

FULL ARTICLE: California lawmakers show rare unity in granting cannabis tax cut | SF GATE