Title
Introduce, waive reading of, and set July 26, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. as the date and time for the Board of Supervisors to consider adoption of 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 July 1, 2022 and authorizing the Board to, by Resolution, waive and/or stay taxes and penalties for cannabis operators with delinquent cannabis business taxes.
Report
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Introduce, waive reading of, and set July 26, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. as the date and time for the Board of Supervisors to consider adoption of 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 July 1, 2022 and authorizing the Board to, by Resolution, waive and/or taxes and penalties for cannabis operators with delinquent cannabis business taxes.
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 (TTC). 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 and provided six options to consider.
The Board approved the following.
1. Effective July 1, 2022, reduce the mixed-light and indoor cultivation tax rates to $2 per square foot and $3 per square respectively.
a. This option would estimate FY 22-23 commercial cannabis business tax revenue at $7.8m, which would not have budgetary impacts from the perspective of how the Recommended Budget is built.
i. In a report to the Board on June 1, 2022, the Program reported the estimated commercial cannabis business tax revenue at $8.2m. At the time of the wr...
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