Pot Buyers Add More Than $1M to Colo. Tax Coffers
Pot Buyers Add More Than $1M to Colo. Tax Coffers
AP
Pot retailers in Colorado have collected $1.24 million in tax revenue in the first month of legal recreational marijuana sales in the state, according to proprietary data they've shared with NBC News. Half of the state's 35 licensed recreational retailers participated in the NBC News survey. When the state first considered legalizing recreational marijuana, it was estimated that the first year's tax revenue would be $67 million. Those who shared their data say tax collections in Colorado will likely exceed a quarter of a million dollars a day, putting it on pace to near $100 million annually.
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“Wow, we’re going to have really nice schools, really nice roads and really nice bridges,” said Eva Honingford-Woolheiser, co-owner of Northern Lights Cannabis just outside Denver.
It’s those municipal projects made possible with marijuana tax money that has legislators in various states watching closely.
In Rhode Island, where there is a $100 million state budget deficit, state Sen. Joshua Miller has proposed legislation to change marijuana laws similar to what Colorado voters did.
“The kind of money that could be generated through this is an amount that could take care of more than 20 percent of the deficit that we’re running every year,” he said. “So it’s a very important revenue source potentially.”
Miller believes legal pot sales could generate $20 million or more a year. And he says it would also cut back on the government costs of running jails and prisons because legal sales would reduce arrests and incarcerations.
Feb 3, 2014