The $6.5 billion cannabis industry of the state of Colorado now has around 3,000 licensed marijuana ventures and over 40,000 people licensed to work in the industry.
Where Is Marijuana Tax Money of Colorado? The State Has Made a Diagram to Answer the Burning Question
According to the statement Colorado officials made on Wednesday, marijuana tax money since the beginning of recreational sales in 2014 exceeded the $1 billion amount in May.
That is a significant success for a growing industry that has sold over $6.5 billion worth of cannabis during that time period.
Nowadays, the state of Colorado has around 3,000 licensed marijuana revenues and over 40,000 people licensed to work in them.
According to a written statement made by Governor Jared Polis, the most marijuana-friendly politician in the country, the state’s economy is growing thanks to the industry that collects valuable income whose purpose is to prevent youth consumption, preserving public safety and health, and making a contribution to public school construction.
Nevertheless, Wednesday’s news has compelled many people to pose a question about tax money. The public wants to know where it goes. A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue, Shannon Gray, said that the mentioned question was among the most commonly asked ones.
When it comes to retail marijuana, the following data have been published: A 15% excise tax has been imposed on recreational cannabis when a cultivation establishment sells it to a manufacturer or store. Retail marijuana buyers then have to pay a 15% tax at the counter.
In order to answer the question about the whereabouts of the marijuana tax money the public has been posing, the Colorado Department of Revenue has published a diagram with the purpose of clearing things up.
The marijuana tax money fund, that receives the biggest part of the cannabis-related income, has to be used for health education, health care, prevention of substance abuse as well as treatment programs, and law enforcement. Lawmakers of the state have made a decision on how the money would be spent.
According to Rachel Zenzinger, who is the state Senator and budget writer, and an Arvada Democrat, there are certain categories and rates of how much money goes into each category.
One-third of the marijuana tax money’s purpose is not specified, which gives certain freedom to the state’s lawmakers.
Zenzinger stated that more often than not, it happened in agreement with a bill. She added that budget writers had tried to regulate the use of money from the fund in terms of limiting it to one-time payments as opposed to spending it on recurring programs.
