• Home
  • MJNews @PRNewswire
  • CBDNews @BusinessWire
  • MJChannelOne
  • MJBA.net
  • MJHeadlineNews
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • MJBA PR

MJNews Network

"The Voice of Legal Cannabis Since 2013"

  • Home
  • Business
  • MJNews By PRNewswire
  • CBDNews by BusinessWire
  • Legal
  • Events
  • BlPOC in Cannabis
You are here: Home / Politics / Capitol Hill / Marijuana Industry Eager to Pay Taxes – and Cash in on Deductions

Marijuana Industry Eager to Pay Taxes – and Cash in on Deductions

August 19, 2013 by MJ News Network 3 Comments

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: As Congress wrestles with big budget cuts, one budding industry wants to help out the federal government with a novel message: Tax us, please.

Marijuana businesses and their backers say legalizing the drug and taxing it like alcohol would add billions to the federal treasury.

Some analysts dismiss a pot tax bonanza as far-fetched, neither likely nor lucrative. But the idea is stirring newly serious debate on Capitol Hill.

The Senate Finance Committee, for instance, included marijuana taxes in an “options paper” listing fresh possible sources of revenue.

In the House of Representatives, legislation is pending on two tracks. The first would legalize marijuana, tax it and regulate it on a national scale. Even advocates don’t expect that to pass anytime soon. A less ambitious bill called the Small Business Tax Equity Act would allow the Internal Revenue Service to provide immediate breaks on federal income taxes for marijuana businesses.

As Congress sorts through the proposals, members must confront a central irony: As pot is growing in popularity – and is given a legal OK in some states – that puts marijuana businesses in a stronger position to argue for tax breaks for selling a drug that’s still outlawed nationally.

Some warn that if Congress doesn’t treat pot sellers like other businesses, state plans to tax and regulate marijuana for recreational use in Washington state and Colorado are doomed to fail when they start next year.

“How can you run a business if you’re not receiving the same tax breaks?” asked Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, one of 13 House members who are promoting the bill that would authorize the deductions for marijuana businesses.

There are plenty of skeptics.

“There’s just so much utter nonsense about this issue,” said Jeffrey Miron, the director of undergraduate studies in the department of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. He specializes in the economics of illegal drugs.

“If they don’t like the fact that they can’t take certain tax deductions because they’re in an illegal business,” he said, “then they should go in some other business where they can take tax deductions.”

Under the legalization bill, introduced by Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado, marijuana would be taxed to help pay for substance abuse treatment and law enforcement and to reduce the federal debt.

They estimate that a $50-per-ounce tax could raise up to $20 billion a year. By comparison, the alcoholic beverage industry pays $7.9 billion in federal excise taxes each year, while excise taxes on tobacco totaled $15 billion last year, according to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Those totals don’t include state and local taxes.

Read full article @ Truth Out

Filed Under: Capitol Hill, Politics Tagged With: Congress, Jeffrey Miron, legal marijuana industry, regulation, Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado, Senate Finance Committee, taxation

About MJ News Network

Comments

  1. levi says

    August 19, 2013 at 10:44 AM

    see the people who want to give to the goverment !!!!!! and help us Americans not funnel money over sees after cashing in

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. MJ News Network | Why Legal Marijuana Is A Good Argument for Tax Reform says:
    August 21, 2013 at 8:59 AM

    […] Industry Eager to Pay Taxes – and Cash in on Deductions.” That was the headline for a story written by Rob Hotakainen of McClatchy Newspapers the other day. In less than a dozen words, it […]

    Reply
  2. MJ News Network | Conservatives Fight Marijuana Taxation Despite “Giggle Factor” says:
    September 12, 2013 at 2:22 PM

    […] 2240, the Small Business Tax Equity Act, a little known bill introduced in June by Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer to allow deductions and credits relating to expenditures for marijuana sales conducted in […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect with Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Top Stories

New York Governor Hochul Announces Major Progress Toward Advancing Equity in Cannabis

Minority-Led Investment Team Chosen to Manage $200 Million Fund to Support Social Equity in Cannabis Industry Entity Headed by NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber, Noted Entrepreneur Lavetta Willis, Financial Leader Suzanne Shank, and Former City Comptroller William Thompson Governor Also Announces Appointment of New York’s Cannabis Advisory Board Which Will Disburse Community Grants, Support Development of Read the full article…

Are You A Woman in Cannabis? CANNECTEDTV Wants to Share Your Story

The deadline for submissions is June 29th, 2022 ARIZONA:  The cannabis industry, much like other industries, has been historically dominated by men. 420MEDIA and CANNECTEDTV want to change that by giving women an outlet for their voices to be heard. “Chronicles Of Women In Cannabis” is a series for women to share their stories and Read the full article…

New York State Debuts Nation’s First Broadcast Cannabis Advertisement Focused on Social Equity

Public Service Advertisement Highlights Comprehensive Approach Being Taken by the State to Ensure Diversity in the New Industry Raises Awareness on Historical Disproportionate Enforcement as New York Builds Adult Use Industry Centered on Addressing Harms Caused by Prohibition   NEW YORK: The New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has released a public service Read the full article…

Colorado Department of Revenue Released Average Market Rates for Retail Marijuana Effective July 1, 2022

COLORADO: The Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) released the Average Market Rates (AMR) for retail marijuana effective July 1, 2022 until September 30, 2022. Two of the seven AMR categories increased this quarter, specifically bud allocated for extraction ($275) and immature plant ($12). Four of the seven rates decreased, including bud ($709), trim ($228), trim Read the full article…

Oregon Legislators, Law Enforcement, Licensees Tell OLCC “Illegal Cannabis Threatens All of Us”

Southern Oregon Hospitality and Wine Industry provide feedback OREGON:  Illegal marijuana activity has not only disrupted the legal cannabis industry, but it’s also jeopardizing southern Oregon’s wine industry, according to testimony the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) heard this week. That was one of many issues that came to light during the Commission’s two-day Read the full article…

Are You A Woman in Cannabis? CANNECTEDTV Wants to Share Your Story

New York State Debuts Nation’s First Broadcast Cannabis Advertisement Focused on Social Equity

Colorado Department of Revenue Released Average Market Rates for Retail Marijuana Effective July 1, 2022

Tags

CA California Canada cannabis cannabis news CBD changing attitudes CO Colorado DC decriminalization dispensary District of Columbia end failed war on drugs end of failed war on drugs failed war on drugs Hemp I-502 legal cannabis legalization legal marijuana legal pot shop marijuana marijuana business medical cannabis medical marijuana mjlegal mjnews MJNews Network mjnewsnetwork.com mmj New York NORML NY OH Ohio OR Oregon politicians on pot recreational marijuana the business of cannabis the business of marijuana WA Washington WSLCB

Search By State:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

© Copyright 2014 MJBA Publishing · MJ News Network · All Rights Reserved ·