Title
Introduce, waive reading, and set May 19, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. as the date and time to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 7.100 of the Monterey County Code to suspend the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 automatic increases on the County's commercial cannabis business tax rates and resume the automatic increases in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 on July 1, 2022.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Introduce, waive reading, and set May 19, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. as the date and time to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 7.100 of the Monterey County Code to suspend the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 automatic increases on the County's commercial cannabis business tax rates and resume the automatic increases in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 on July 1, 2022.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Monterey County imposes an annual business tax on cannabis businesses pursuant to Monterey County Code Chapter 7.100 and such tax is collected by the Treasurer-Tax Collector. The COVID-19 pandemic has created economic turmoil for numerous types of businesses, and cannabis businesses in particular have been impacted because they are not eligible for federal assistance or traditional banking relief to survive the economic downturn and many faces permanent closure. The permanent closure of cannabis businesses may cause widespread unemployment, abandonment of ongoing greenhouse rehabilitation in the Salinas Valley, and reversion to the illegal black-market sale of cannabis and cannabis products.
In response to the Board of Supervisors Referral 2020.15, staff presented a report on implications of the automatic cannabis tax escalator that would take into effect on July 1, 2020. The Board of Supervisors approved to freeze the automatic cannabis tax increases and directed staff to return to the Board with an amendment to Chapter 7.100.
The ordinance modifies the automatic increases to commercial cannabis tax rates. Specifically, it prescribes the following:...
Click here for full text