B.C. urged to give municipalities 40 per cent of pot tax revenues
VANCOUVER The advocacy group for local governments in British Columbia wants the provincial government to fork over a 40 per cent share of its marijuana tax revenue when the drug becomes legal.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities has tabled a resolution asking the province to provide local governments with $50 million of the projected provincial cannabis excise tax revenue of $125 million over the first two years of legalization.
Representatives from city councils across the province will vote on the resolution next week during the union’s annual convention.
Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang, who co-chairs a joint provinciallocal government committee on cannabis regulation, says municipalities will face new costs when non-medical marijuana becomes legal Oct. 17, including policing, administrative and staffing costs related to enforcement and zoning.
Although it’s unknown exactly how much revenue will come in from pot legalization, Jang said local governments want some of the money upfront in order to avoid having to find other sources, like boosting property taxes.
“To be honest, nobody really knows what the revenues are going to be like. That’s why we’re saying look, this is for the first couple of years to get us going and then we can look at other models afterwards,” said Jang.
The resolution proposes splitting any extra revenue above the province’s projected amount evenly with local governments. Excise tax revenue would be distributed to local governments on a percapita basis, with all municipal and regional districts receiving a minimum of $10,000, regardless of population.
Depending on how accurate the revenue projections turn out to be after two years, the resolution suggests either continuing with the same model or considering a boost in provincial sales tax on cannabis from seven per cent to a maximum of 10 per cent and committing a portion to local governments.
Jang said the proposal is largely based on what Ontario has promised its local governments.