DENVER-When Colorado voters legalized the retail sale of pot, they did so with the expectation of a wholesale tax on marijuana being put on the ballot this year.
The excise tax would be paid before pot gets to the retail counter and capped at 15 percent, if the language follows what was in the Amendment 64 language.
However, the Amendment 64 task force has recommended an additional sales tax on marijuana.
Task force members discussed making the amount of this tax 25 percent, but plans to let lawmakers choose a number.
This marijuana sales tax would be charged in addition to normal sales taxes paid currently paid on everyday purchases.
Both the excise tax and marijuana sales tax would need to be approved by voters in their own separate ballot questions. Lawmakers would need to approve the tax measures for the November 2013 ballot.
The first $40 million raised by the excise tax would go to school construction.
Some members of the task force feel that the roughly $20 million forecast to be raised by existing sales taxes is too low.
A 25 percent additional tax could generate significantly more revenue.
However, supporters of Amendment 64 caution against taxing marijuana too heavily, arguing that if taxes make marijuana too expensive in stores, people will choose to buy pot from street dealers instead.
9NEWS.COM (KUSA-TV © 2013 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)