California To Vote On Going Green

November 2016 will see an initiative on California’s ballot about the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. In 2010, it was put to ballot as Prop 19, but failed 53.5%/46.5%. Will 6 years create a big enough difference to swing majority?

Tax Revenue

 

There are a lot of moral factors among this that I do not want to stir up. I want to shift focus toward the economic effect it may have.

I have written briefly before about California’s much maligned tax system. This initiative, titled “Californians to Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana,” would see California join the ranks Washington, Alaska, Colorado, and Oregon as states with legal recreational marijuana use. A cursory Google search shows the amount of tax revenue that marijuana has brought in for those states: $150 million over 2 years in Colorado and more than $8 million in a couple months in Oregon (since the start of the year).

After acknowledging that California is a bigger state than both Oregon and Colorado, one would gather that there would be a huge haul of tax revenue. For Californians, with proper regulations, is there any reason not to vote for something that would bring in tax revenue so easily? What are the main objections to this initiative?

Surely the legalization of marijuana for recreational use will have tax implications?

I am an Editorial Associate at TaxConnections providing you with tax news from around the world.

LinkedIn 

Subscribe to TaxConnections Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.