As New York transfer steadily nearer to a completely rolled out adult-use hashish business, two New York state legislators lately proposed legislation that might 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 many sponsors and chief proponents of the MRTA and Senator Cooney has been integrally concerned in legislating hashish because the passage of the MRTA.
As a part of saying 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 will likely be higher for companies and shoppers. It’s crucial to ascertain the licensed hashish market as the most suitable choice for shoppers and stamp out the illicit hashish operations popping up all around 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 larger tax revenues, which can lead to extra funds being reinvested in communities and invested in training and different necessary packages.”
The invoice’s justification equally emphasizes {that a} flat tax “will higher shift the prices away from companies and shoppers 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 method to forming the adult-use hashish market. We’ll maintain our eyes out for info on the proposed laws because it strikes in the direction of passage. Keep tuned!