A Republican lawmaker in Montana is seeking to eliminate sales taxes on medical marijuana, a move that could breathe life into the state’s struggling MMJ market.
The dwindling number of MMJ patients in Montana currently pay a 4% state sales tax as well as a 3% local tax in certain jurisdictions.
But both would be eliminated if House Bill 420 becomes law.
The measure was introduced Wednesday by state Rep. Mike Hopkins, a Missoula Republican.
Hopkins wants to cut the MMJ tax because adult-use cannabis sales generate adequate tax revenue, the Helena Independent Record reported,
Montana recorded $48.5 million in adult-use tax revenue on $230 million worth of sales since the legal market launched in January 2022.
The state levies a 20% excise tax on adult-use sales, and localities may add an additional 3% tax.
In the year since adult-use sales began in Montana, the number of registered MMJ cardholders has decreased from 40,000 to 21,000, the Helena newspaper reported.
The state’s MMJ industry has faced many struggles, including court battles, since medical marijuana was legalized in 2004.
