Proposed tax in Phoenix could cost medical marijuana firms $1 million+ annually

Facing a budget crunch, Phoenix’s interim mayor is proposing a heavy tax on the city’s medical cannabis industry that could cost some companies more than $1 million a year.

Medical marijuana businesses said they felt blindsided by the city, the Arizona Republic reported.

“They’re trying to balance the budget on the backs of our patients,” Bill Abbott, senior vice president of the southwest region for MPX Bioceutical, told the newspaper.

He said the tax could put some dispensaries out of business.

If the proposed tax is approved in its current form by the City Council:

• Companies would pay an annual license tax based on the size of their dispensaries and cultivation facilities.
• Cultivators/processors would pay $50 a square foot and dispensaries would pay $280 a square foot.

MPX manages a cultivation facility and a dispensary in Phoenix. Based on the size of those facilities, the tax bill would be about $1.7 million a year, according to the newspaper.