San Francisco's voter-approved marijuana business tax may raise $10M
FILE ART - Cannabis
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) With cannabis being legalized this year in California, San Francisco voters on Tuesday approved a measure to tax cannabis businesses in the city.
According to election results as of today, Proposition D had passed with 66 percent of the vote.
"Prop. D's passage represents a significant boost to our Equity Program, to patient care, and to streamlining our permitting process for cannabis businesses," Board of Supervisors President Malia Cohen, who authored the legislation, said in a statement.
"I look forward to continuing to work with business owners, with neighbors, with the medical marijuana advocates, and with our brothers and sisters in labor to stabilize the industry. With this support, every
entrepreneur will have equal opportunity to access and benefit from cannabis legalization," she said.
Under the new law, new cannabis businesses and cannabis businesses that don't have a physical presence in the city will be taxed at between 1 and 5 percent of gross receipts, starting in 2021.
According to Cohen's office, Prop. D will generate about $10 million in revenue, which is to be directed to the city's General Fund.
Under the direction of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis, the newly-created Cannabis Oversight Committee will be responsible for funding priorities for the city's cannabis industry, Cohen's office said.