With 10 days to go before businesses involved with low-potency hemp-derived products must register with the state, the numbers are trickling upward. Perhaps a result of a social media campaign noting the requirement contained in House File 100, the number of registered businesses increased from around 500 in mid-August to 1,250 last week, the Minnesota Department of Health said.
And reports from the Department of Revenue show that 842 businesses paid $771,514 in cannabis taxes in August. Since the new law created a 10% tax on sales of cannabis products, those tax collection numbers converted to $7.72 million in sales in August. That might not include all sales because the number of cannabis taxpayers is increasing with each collections report — from 571 in preliminary July reports to 682 in revised July numbers and 842 last month.
Those 682 businesses collected $699,630 in cannabis taxes in July. Jason Dayton started Minneapolis Cider Co. with his wife and began offering a line of THC cider beverages shortly after the sale of hemp-derived edibles and drinks were made legal. He said the regulations included in House File 100 haven’t had much impact yet.
“The 10% tax hasn’t been an issue so far, or at least nobody has complained to us about it, and we haven’t seen any slowdown in sales,” Dayton said. “As far as the total number of businesses, that number seems reasonable. We sell across the state and are currently available in over 500 retailers, and we’re certainly not everywhere yet.“
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