Hickenlooper wants to raise cannabis sales tax in Colorado for schools

On the one hand, I understand the reasoning. A reduction on property taxes will cause a loss in revenue slated for schools.

On the other hand, this issue highlights two problems:

  1. The cannabis industry is being used as a “reserve” tax base for the government. If the trend continues, that spells danger for the industry in Colorado.
  2. WHY THE HECK ARE PROPERTY TAXES STILL BEING USED TO FUND SCHOOLS?! :rage: This is the exact problem that leads to terrible inner-city schools and small but wealthy schools.
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I don’t see why they need to up the tax. They collected more than the ceiling that they set, so they had to refund some of it last year. Just up the ceiling on what they can keep from the current tax rate and put that towards schools.

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Yeah. I heard that same thing. Colorado gave taxpayers a refund from the Weed tax last year, because it reached the cap.

It makes me nervous when taxes keep piling up on legal Cannabis businesses. If it gets too steep it puts legal growers out of business and illegal growers in business.

As prices drop it’s already becoming a big concern that the industry will consolidate into a couple large producers that grow in quantity in order to make a profit. Walmart Weed. That’s not good. I’d like to see the quality and competition that smaller companies provide.

Tobacco has been taxed more and more too. At some point I feel sorry for those poor saps who are addicted to tobacco, and paying $12+ per day ($8 of it taxes). It’s really absurd that we allow a drug that’s as addictive as heroin and causes 480,000 deaths annually. Politicians think that by increasing tobacco taxes it will reduce the number of smokers, and at the same time create a revenue “Sin Tax” that fills the holes in government spending. Every year they increase the tax rate a little more. The government is more and more resembling a heroin dealer doling out heroin to junkies. Sucking them dry.

Meanwhile Cannabis remains federally illegal. Crazy. Cannabis will end up taxed just like tobacco if we let it.

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