26-03-2025
New bill proposed to stop large tax increase on California cannabis industry
( — A new bill was proposed Monday to give tax relief to what some legislators called a dying cannabis industry. • Video above: How much do states make from marijuana tax?
Assemblymember Matt Haney (D – San Francisco) introduced AB 564 which he said would prevent a 25% cannabis tax increase scheduled for July 1. Haney said the increase in taxes would devastate California's legal cannabis industry by forcing many small businesses to close and driving consumers toward the illegal market.
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California is widely known as the birthplace of cannabis culture in the United States. The industry boasts hundreds of thousands of employees and generates hundreds of millions in revenue annually. According to Haney, over the past five years, the licensed cannabis market has been in a sharp decline because of tax burdens.
'If we continue to pile on more taxes and fees onto our struggling small cannabis businesses, California's cannabis culture is under serious threat of extinction,' Haney said. 'Instead, we should be looking at how we can support this industry which has barely been given a chance to survive after legalization. If we want to support our cannabis industry that drives millions of visitors to California every year, adding more costs makes absolutely no sense.'
Haney added that suspending the tax increase will give the cannabis industry a chance to regain its foothold and keep small cannabis businesses across the state from failing.
The bill is expected to be heard in the Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee and Business & Professions Committee in April.
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