Indopedia All Things Marijuana
Massachusetts lawmakers have been battling for months over a revamp of the recreational marijuana legalization bill that voters approved last November. Legislators planned to have the bill finalized and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker by June 30th, but the deadline passed by as the state House and Senate disagreed over several key issues of the bill.
One of the issues causing the most contention is the proposed sales tax rate for recreational cannabis. The state Senate planned to keep the tax at a maximum of 12%, which is the rate that voters approved last year. The House, however, wanted to raise this rate to a mandatory 28%, which immediately raised concerns that Bay Staters might turn to the black market for cheaper weed.
A six-member conference committee has reconciled the differences of the two chambers’ bills and finally arrived at a compromise bill this week. The new bill would levy a 10.75% excise tax in addition to the state 6.25% sales tax on recreational cannabis. Cities and towns would then have the option of adding a 3% local tax on top. This compromise tax rate would be lower than the cannabis sales tax rates in Colorado and Washington.
“We feel confident…
