By: Michael R. Blood
Source: https://kmph.com/news/local/tax-cut-for-california-pot-industry-too-little-too-late
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s governor on Friday proposed a temporary tax cut for the state’s struggling legal marijuana industry, but businesses said it falls far short of what’s needed to revive a foundering pot economy.
Broad legal sales began in California in 2018, but the industry has been burdened by hefty taxes that can approach 50% in some areas, costly regulation and competition from a flourishing illegal marketplace, which industry analysts estimate is at least twice the size of the legal one.
Meanwhile, a glut of cannabis from corporate-scale farms has sent wholesale prices into a tailspin, leaving some growers unable to make a profit.
California was once envisioned as a national model for legal sales, but industry leaders warned Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in December that the state’s licensed industry was verging on collapse and needed immediate tax relief and a swift expansion of retail outlets to survive.
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