Long Beach lowered the tax rate for cannabis retail and cultivation businesses in an effort to help business owners who say they are struggling to compete with the illicit market.
The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to lower the tax rate overall for retail businesses from 8% to 7%, and reduce the tax on cultivation businesses from $14.96 per square foot to $13.09 per square foot.
These taxes are on top of the city's regular sales tax of 10.25% and the state's excise tax of 15%.
"The cannabis industry is overtaxed and over-regulated," Councilmember Cindy Allen said.The city also expanded the eligibility requirements for a tax credit program that would give retail and cultivation businesses an additional 3 percentage points off their tax rate.
Read more at lbpost.com