Washington
legislators are salivating over the different types of taxes they can impose on
the state's new recreational marijuana industry. Both Washington and Colorado
state lawmakers continue to push for a federal marijuana tax on the sales of
recreational marijuana. This tax would be allocated for public services and
schools.
Some
estimate that a federal tax on marijuana would bring in as much as $100 million
in potential revenue. In California, the director of the California National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws estimates that if California
legalized marijuana, the state could bring in as much as $1.2 billion in tax
revenues.
Yet
in the industry, there are many that believe these estimates to be too high. Once
marijuana is legalized, they expect the price to fall substantially, which will
bring in lower than anticipated taxes. They are also concerned that increasing
taxes on recreational marijuana will only drive people to purchase the product
from illegal dealers. Even with these warnings, however, Washington state
lawmakers are considering adding a voter-approved 25% tax to marijuana production.
