Taxes

In a nearly unanimous vote, Missouri lawmakers delivered a bill to the governor that will let the state’s medical cannabis companies deduct ordinary business expenses on their state tax returns.

Lawmakers in Louisiana’s House rejected a measure to tax adult-use cannabis sales if and when the state passes the reforms, likely dooming the reforms for this year and the next.

Illinois cannabis tax revenues outpaced alcohol tax revenues for the first time after generating $86 million during the year’s first quarter.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal case brought by California cannabis companies seeking to challenge their severe tax bills under Section 280E due to delayed paperwork.

An appeal of Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code filed by California-based Harborside Health Center was rejected in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.

Wisconsin’s governor said that Illinois’ governor keeps thanking him for having so many Wisconsinites cross state lines to buy cannabis products and pay Illinois state taxes.

Washington state failed to pass key updates to its medical and adult-use cannabis systems this year, including the state’s long-awaited home grow bill.

A Rhode Island Senate legalization proposal would establish an adult-use cannabis marketplace with a 20 percent tax rate.

Evanston, Illinois is ready to start sending $25,000 reparation payments to help Black residents afford housing in the north Chicago neighborhood. The payments will be funded by a 3% tax on adult-use cannabis.

Cannabis industry taxes and fees have generated about $11.6 million each for Michigan’s School Aid Fund and Transportation Fund.

UPS announced it will stop shipping vape products starting April 5, the result of federal regulations from the omnibus spending bill approved and signed last year.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said during a recent House subcommittee hearing that the agency would prefer if cannabis industry tax payments were not paid in cash.

Public schools in Peoria County, Illinois are getting just over $858,000 in cannabis-derived tax revenue from the state.

The U.S. Tax Court ruled that California-based San Jose Wellness, a subsidiary of Harborside, is liable for $4.2 million in taxes under federal law.

Despite the pandemic, Colorado set a new annual cannabis sales record in 2020 at $2.19 billion.

Cannabis activists and lobbyists in Washington state are predicting a busy legislative session this year. Already, bills are planned to address the state’s lack of cannabis homegrows, undo the excise tax on medical cannabis, and more.

Combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales in Illinois surpassed $1 billion during 2020. The state’s adult-use market launched last January.

Oregon’s Deschutes County has announced a lawsuit saying it should be paid a portion of the state’s cannabis tax revenue despite having banned any new cannabis processing and cultivation facilities in the county in 2019.

In an effort to assist local cannabis businesses, San Francisco officials have opted to delay implementing the city’s cannabis taxes until the end of 2021.

Law enforcement confiscated over 15,000 cannabis plants last week around the San Francisco Bay Area, highlighting ongoing issues with California’s highly taxed cannabis marketplace.

Massachusetts has officially surpassed $1 billion in adult-use cannabis sales, resulting in about $200 million in taxes for the state.

The IRS has been cleared to audit cannabis companies under a recent ruling in the U.S. 10th Circuit of Appeals.

King County, Washington is considering shifting its cannabis-derived funds from the Sheriff’s Office to instead pay for community programs and to help individuals vacate cannabis-related convictions.

A new IRS guidance says state-legal cannabis firms should be able to take business tax deductions under Section 471, a tax code approved in 2018 that allows businesses grossing $25 million or less in revenue to deduct a greater portion of their expenses.