Nevada collected more than $100 million in cannabis-derived revenues over the last fiscal year, the Nevada Independent reports. The revenues include $99.18 million in tax contributions and another $10 million in fees.
The revenues are a 33 percent increase year-over-year in Nevada, which collected $74.7 million in cannabis-derived taxes and fees in the 2018 fiscal year. The state imposes a 10 percent excise tax and 15 percent wholesale tax along with sales taxes and licensing fees. The 2018 revenues were 40 percent higher than government estimates; the state anticipates cannabis-derived revenues to reach more than $100 million per year over the next two years.
Cannabis taxes are earmarked for education spending in the state after costs for regulation and enforcement; however, in 2018 just about $27 million was deposited into education accounts and the rest was deposited into the state’s Rainy Day Fund. In May, the legislature passed a bill to deposit cannabis excise tax revenue directly into the education accounts, which is expected to add $120 million to education accounts over the next two years.
Riana Durrett, director of the Nevada Dispensary Association told the Independent that regulators need to do a better job on cracking down on the illegal market as it “continues to deprive the state of funds that could be going to education.”
Last fiscal year, the Rainy Day Fund received $42.5 million from cannabis industry taxes and fees, $27.5 million was deposited into the school account, $5.5 million was used for regulatory administration, and $5 million was dispersed to local governments.
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