Colorado looks to marijuana tax as budget fix, stretching the limits of what voters approved
The recreational marijuana tax hike is part of a sweeping bill to address hospital budget cuts
May 3, 2017
In last-minute negotiations between Colorado lawmakers on a major spending bill, a dubious budget fixer has emerged: marijuana taxes.
The tentative legislation unveiled this week seeks to extract additional money from Colorado's burgeoning cannabis industry by raising the recreational marijuana special sales tax from 10 percent to the maximum 15 percent rate.
The new dollars are earmarked for rural schools and a tax break for business owners on personal property — two purposes that diverge from the original intent of voters who in 2013 approved Proposition AA imposing taxes on recreational marijuana.
