Long Beach may look at lowering taxes on some cannabis businesses, but how big the cuts end up being will have a big impact on the city’s annual budget, which is projected to receive about $12 million in taxes from the industry.
The City Council’s Budget Oversight Committee heard potential options for lowering the tax rates in the city, which are currently 8% for adult use sales and 6% for medicinal sales, and $13.41 per square foot of cultivation.
City staff laid out options Tuesday for the committee to consider, including eliminating some taxes completely, which would create a large hole in the budget; the city has depended on this revenue since cannabis sales fully came online.
This year’s budget proposes using cannabis tax revenue to fund things like a new REACH Team and other homeless services, including encampment cleanups. It also calls for about $2.2 million to pay for code enforcement, fire inspections, and city management salaries.
To read the complete article, go to www.lbpost.com