Colorado marijuana taxes exceed expectations
DENVER — Colorado’s legal marijuana market is far exceeding tax expectations, according to a budget proposal released Wednesday by Governor John Hickenlooper that gives the first official estimate of how much the state expects to make from pot taxes.
The proposal outlines plans to spend some $99 million US next fiscal year on substance abuse prevention, youth marijuana use prevention and other priorities. The money would come from a statewide 10 per cent sales tax on recreation pot, indicating Colorado’s total sales next fiscal year will be near $1 billion.
Retail sales began Jan. 1 in Colorado. Sales have been strong, though exact figures for January sales won’t be made public until early next month.
The Colorado pot tax plan doesn’t include an additional 15 per cent pot excise tax, of which $40 million a year already is designated for school construction. The governor projected the full $40 to be reached next year.
The initial tax projections are rosier than those given to voters in 2012, when state fiscal projections on the marijuana-legalization amendment would produce $39.5 million in sales taxes next fiscal year, which begins in July.
Meanwhile, The Denver Post reported Wednesday that banks holding commercial loans on properties that lease to Colorado marijuana businesses say they don’t plan to refinance those loans when they come due. Bankers say property used as collateral for those loans theoretically is subject to federal drugseizure laws, which makes the loans a risk.