Denver – According to The Daily Herald, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are in the race of who can legalize smoking of marijuana. In Colorado, voters are already in the crossroad of legalizing marijuana use. However, negative opinions have spurred debates, which centered on the actual tax the recreational marijuana law can generate.
Supporters of the legalization claim that marijuana can create a bail-out for cash-strapped states; plus, it can reduce criminal lawsuits and charges that should be dealt with by the government. On the other end of the spectrum, oppositions talk about the growing bureaucracy and myriad of pitfalls that may abound when marijuana is legalized.
The three states cannot agree on the actual tax generation marijuana legalization can yield for the state government. Colorado intends to use marijuana taxes in building schools with the marijuana tax surging between $5 million to $15 million. Washington plans to fund rehabilitation, research, and healthcare with an estimate of $2 billion tax in five years. The Cannabis Tax Act of Oregon foresees 90% of marijuana tax for the state’s general fund with the austerity measure for prisons.
Brian Vincente, a man-of-law for Colorado’s Campaign To Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, debated, “We all know there’s a market for marijuana, but right now the profits are all going to drug cartels or underground.”
From the other side, it is hard to measure and buying-selling business of marijuana in the black market. As much, no one knows if those in the black market will go into open once the law is passed.
For the anti-Marijuana legalization, Jeffrey Miron, Harvard professor on national tax implications, said, “It’s difficult to size up a market even if it’s legal, certainly if it’s illegal.”
Nonetheless, there are federal restrictions that should be considered. When California intended to legalize marijuana last 2012, US Attorney General Holder discussed the vetoing capability of the federal government on the basis of the federal drug law.
In the end, voters will decide to legalize Marijuana or not, purely not on the basis of tax implications, but on necessity and society issues.
If you or someone you know needs a person to handle tax issues, call a tax attorney in your area.
