Title
Adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 7.100 of the Monterey County Code to reduce the commercial cannabis business tax rates for mixed-light and indoor cultivation retroactive to October 1, 2022, authorize the Board to, by resolution, waive and/or stay interest and penalties for cannabis operators with delinquent cannabis business taxes, extend the Board's conditional waiver of penalties and interest for FY 21-22 Quarters 2, and 3, from July 31, 2022 to January 31, 2023, and add FY 21-22 Quarter 4 to that conditional waiver.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
Adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 7.100 of the Monterey County Code to reduce the commercial cannabis business tax rates for mixed-light and indoor cultivation retroactive to October 1, 2022, authorize the Board to, by resolution, waive and/or stay interest and penalties for cannabis operators with delinquent cannabis business taxes, extend the Board's conditional waiver of penalties and interest for FY 21-22 Quarters 2, and 3, from July 31, 2022 to January 31, 2023, and add FY 21-22 Quarter 4 to that conditional waiver.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
The County imposes an annual business tax on cannabis businesses under Monterey County Code (MCC) Chapter 7.100. That tax is collected by the Treasurer-Tax Collector. On June 1, 2022, the Cannabis Program (Program) reported to the Board of Supervisors on the implications of the decline in wholesale price points for commercial cultivation and the impacts of that decline on the cannabis industry. The Program provided the Board with six options to consider to assist the industry.
The Board approved the following:
1. Effective July 1, 2022, reduce the nursery, mixed-light, and indoor cultivation tax rates to $1 per square foot, $2 per square foot, and $3 per square foot, respectively.
a. This option would not have budgetary impacts from the perspective of how the Recommended Budget is built.
b. This option does not present opera...
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