The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval Tuesday to new business tax rates for cannabis cultivators in unincorporated areas of the county that would nearly double the top rate for indoor growers.
The new rates would maintain the current tax structure on cultivators, which calculates the amount owed based on the square footage of canopy permitted to be grown.
A third-party consultant hired by the county, HdL Companies, advised changing the tax structure to a gross receipts model, which calculates taxes based on a percentage of revenue. The county's Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, Erick Roeser, opted to keep the square footage model but used an estimated rate of 2.5 percent of gross receipts to calculate the new tax rate.
The new rates per square foot of canopy will be $0.75 for outdoor growers, $3.00 for growers using mixed light, and $12.50 for indoor cultivators.
Read more at cbsnews.com