LANSING, MI — Efforts to repeal Michigan’s newly instituted 24% wholesale marijuana tax are underway.
A bipartisan mix of five Republican and three Democratic senators are supporting the repeal under Senate Bill 810, sponsored by state Sen. Jonathon Lindsey, R-Coldwater.
Marijuana industry advocate and bill co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said the tax reversal “faces an uphill climb.”
“But I think as members start to reckon with, not just the damage that’s being done to the industry — but also the businesses that are being shuttered, the jobs that are being lost, and the revenue that we’re not seeing to schools and local governments,” he said, “When all those chickens come home to roost, I think there might be some members who change their minds.”
A simple majority in the House and Senate is required to reverse the tax. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations.
Irwin and others believe the increase will significantly decrease sales, deter out-of-state customers, eliminate jobs and prop up black market sales.
January revenue figures released by the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency showed the lowest monthly sales since February 2023. January sales reached $226 million, while monthly sales have averaged $264 million during the preceding 12 months.
“I don’t think we have the data yet to be able to show this steep drop is directly related,” Irwin said, “But when we unscramble all that spaghetti,” I think it will show a significant decrease in out-of-state customer sales.
The Legislature created the new tax under what’s called the Comprehensive Road Funding Tax Act. The legislation, House Bill 4951,introduced by Rep. Samantha Steckloff, D-Farmington Hills, didn’t mention marijuana or a new tax. The language was added to a substitute submitted on Sept. 25, the same day the House voted 78-21 to pass it.
Opponents argue the substitute changed the bill enough to require a new five-day waiting period before a vote, which did not take place.
“The whole purpose of having the time there is so that people that are impacted can have time to mobilize,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project.
O’Keefe believes legislators “rushed” the legislation through to avoid opposition.
Read the full article HERE.