Salinas >> A Monterey County cannabis committee has backed chopping legal commercial marijuana tax rates by about half to three-quarters.
During a special committee meeting Monday, Supervisors Luis Alejo and John Phillips agreed the county’s tax rates should be dropped significantly in an effort to allow the fledgling industry to gain a stronger foothold in the unincorporated parts of the county as it battles unexpectedly high costs and other challenges.
“This is a new industry and there’s a lot of fluctuation,” Alejo said. “We know when we keep taxes high we create a disincentive for investment. I think it’s imperative to keep Monterey County as a success story in cannabis. We don’t want to look back in three to five years and say we made a mistake. We need a win-win.”
While the committee agreed with much of county staff recommendation on lowering tax rates for most parts of the local cannabis business including retail, manufacturing, distribution and the like, the supervisors diverged on the recommended rate for the largest tax revenue contributor - cultivation.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
