Simon Malinowski
As New York strikes steadily nearer to a completely rolled out adult-use hashish business, two New York state legislators not too long ago proposed legislation that may considerably simplify the tax construction for adult-use hashish. Below the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), New York would have charged a efficiency THC tax on all adult-use hashish, plus an excise tax of 9%. The proposed laws would change the tax construction to a flat 16% excise tax, with no efficiency tax.
The proposed laws was announced by Meeting Majority Chief Crystal Peoples-Stokes and state Senator Jeremy Cooney. As a reminder, Meeting Majority Chief Peoples-Stokes was one of the sponsors and chief proponents of the MRTA and Senator Cooney has been integrally involved in legislating hashish because the passage of the MRTA.
As a part of asserting the proposed laws, Meeting Majority Chief Peoples-Stokes acknowledged:
“After cautious consideration, it turned clear that we have to simplify the tax construction of adult-use hashish. Because the state continues to construct out licensed hashish operations, a less complicated tax construction can be higher for companies and customers. It’s crucial to determine the licensed hashish market as the best choice for customers and stamp out the illicit hashish operations popping up everywhere in the state. This new tax method will finally result in thriving hashish companies in any respect ranges of the availability chain. We are going to see greater tax revenues, which can lead to extra funds being reinvested in communities and invested in training and different essential applications.”
The invoice’s justification equally emphasizes {that a} flat tax “will higher shift the prices away from companies and customers whereas facilitating a hashish market in New York State that’s flourishing and can present actual financial advantages for all.”
It’s noteworthy that the justification additionally references the legislators’ evaluate of “a considerable amount of knowledge now out there from different cannabis-legal states,” which highlights New York’s data-driven approach to forming the adult-use hashish market. We’ll preserve our eyes out for info on the proposed laws because it strikes in direction of passage. Keep tuned!
