Thursday, August 27, 2015
"Pioneer Pot States Have Collected More Than $200 Million In Marijuana Taxes"
The title of this post is the headline of this notable new Huffington Post article. Here is how it gets started:
The first two states to legalize recreational marijuana have collectively raked in at least $200 million in marijuana tax revenue, according to the latest tax data -- and they're putting those dollars to good use.
In Colorado, after about a year and a half of legal recreational marijuana sales, the state has collected more than $117 million in excise taxes from both the recreational and medical marijuana markets, according to the most recent data from the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Washington state got a slower start. Its retail shops didn't begin selling recreational marijuana until July of last year, but they are keeping pace with Colorado's. About $83 million in excise taxes have already been collected in the year since sales first began, according to the most recent tax data from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.
And the total haul for both states is several million higher if all additional revenue from marijuana -- such as sales taxes, jurisdictional taxes, fees and licensing costs -- is included.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/2015/08/pioneer-pot-states-have-collected-more-than-200-million-in-marijuana-taxes.html