Dems move to change federal pot laws

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/dems_move_to_change_federal_pot_laws/ I wonder what Polis' constituents think about his bill that would force cannabis producers to pay a 50% tax to the federal government. If you add that 50% federal tax with the 15% state wholesale tax and like 10% in state/local sales taxes, 64 pot shops would have a hard time making a profit if they have to pay $225 in taxes for a $300 dollar ounce that they sell. They wouldn't be able to compete with the black market and the drug cartels would still be in the game. It's disappointing that the legalization effort is turning into one big cash grab. If they can no longer make money from arresting us, they're going to try to tax the living hell out of legal cannabis users, producers, and retailers. If I was thinking about opening a 64 pot shop, these kinds of bills would make me seriously think twice about it.

That is simply insane.

Man, I hope it doesn't turn out to something like this...

indicantonio said:

Man, I hope it doesn't turn out to something like this...

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of course it will....
High profit = intense competition AND TREACHERY....

That's all about as ridiculous as what the feds did in 1937 with the Marijuana Tax Act. They placed a tax of $200 on an ounce of pot and even went so far as to print tax stamps but they would not sell the stamps and didn't release them.

Just going to leave room open for Walmart/monsanto/Phillip Moris to scoop up the industry since it the margins would be complete shit unless you were doing it on an industrial level.

Thanks for the link Osburn! I had not seen the 50% tax part of their proposal. I am a Polis constituent so I'll be providing feedback to him directly.

imo this is still better than people sitting in prison over a plant..

if you choose to grow in current times.... heres the numbers

with the Federal governement you get no business tax deductions....no write offs

so lets say you make $1,000,000 for the year and you live in washington state with a producer and a processor license..... a 25% tax comes with each license

The Federal government curently will take $385,000 ...38.5% just like a lottery wining.... the state of washington gets 50% of the 1,000,000 your left with $115,000 profit out of a million $$

Q: What is a license? How do I get it? When can I get it
A: I-502 creates three separate tiers: marijuana producer, marijuana processor, and marijuana retailer. Currently the WSLCB is working to define what the qualifications and requirements for each license will be. The best way to keep up to date on the process is to register for email notifications on the WSLCB website www.liq.wa.gov.
Q: How much does a license cost?
A: I-502 establishes a license application fee at $250 and a $1,000 renewal fee for each of the three licenses; marijuana producer, marijuana processor and marijuana retailer.
Q: Can I hold all three license types?
A: Having all three licenses is not permitted under I-502. A licensee may hold both a producer and a processor license simultaneously. The initiative does not allow a producer to also be a retailer or a processor to also be a retailer

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Medshed said:

Thanks for the link Osburn! I had not seen the 50% tax part of their proposal. I am a Polis constituent so I'll be providing feedback to him directly.

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Thank you!

indicantonio said:

Man, I hope it doesn't turn out to something like this...

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The scary thing is that I think this kind of bill has a decent chance of passing. An anti-legalization congressman could vote for the bill and then tell his constituents that the bill isn't about legalizing cannabis in their state. It's about sticking it to the dopers in the states that have legalized cannabis or may legalize cannabis in the future.

I know this is splitting hairs but Polis didn't actually introduce the tax act. He introduced the act to end prohibition at the federal level for states that want to legalize locally. He did seemingly endorse the tax act though. My email to him thanked him for the bill he introduced and asked if he does in fact support the tax bill. If he does support the tax I asked him to justify his decision.

I have sent Polis emails before and he's been responsive. Assuming he responds this time I'll post his response here.

Dont worry guys. The Feds would still have to reschedule Marijuana before the tax act could even pass. And once they do, the STATES will not let the Feds move deeply in on profits with the stroke of a pen.The States passing legalization laws are geared to profit from thier own taxes on producers and distributers and will block efforts to be undermined by a tax into oblivion effort by Washintons ID10Ts. My opion anway .......