California lawmakers propose cannabis tax cuts to curb the state’s black market

In an effort to jump-start California’s sluggish legal marijuana marketplace, a group of Democratic state lawmakers proposed a bill that would for the next three years eliminate the state’s $148-per-pound cultivation tax on farmers and reduce the state’s 15% excise tax on retail sales to 11%.

The bill is designed to combat the state’s entrenched black market and provide a lifeline to legal marijuana businesses that are struggling with state and local taxes and time-consuming and costly regulations, Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Oakland, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and three other Assembly members said at a news conference.

A similar bill failed to clear the Democratic-controlled Assembly last year.

– Associated Press