COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Residents across Boone County and in its cities voted to impose 3% taxes on marijuana sales in their political subdivisions.
This comes after Missouri residents voted to pass the legalization of recreational marijuana in November.
The propositions gave voters the opportunity to vote on a sales tax of 3% on all retail sales of adult use marijuana. Other counties and municipalities around Mid-Missouri are voting on marijuana sales taxes, as well.
“City of Columbia, City of Ashland, City of Centralia, City of Hallsville and City of Sturgeon, all of those will see this proposition about a 3% sales tax on adults recreational use marijuana. They’ll see it twice,” Boone County District 2 Commissioner Janet Thompson said. “Every other jurisdiction has put that on the ballot. If you live in unincorporated Boone County it’ll just appear once.”
Thompson said the reason this was on the ballot is because when voters passed Amendment 3 last fall, this proposition was part of the language used in the amendment. The state currently collects a 6% tax from recreational marijuana sales
Thompson referenced the language in Amendment 3.
“Any local jurisdiction that puts it on the ballot can ask the voters to approve up to three-percent sales tax on those adult recreational use marijuana sales,” Thompson said.
Thompson said that many people believe if the sales taxes gets passed, the taxes would be stacked onto each other. She previously said it could be decided by a court.
“That’s normally how we work it,” Thompson said. “If you live in the City of Centralia and buy a candy bar at the local convenience store, you’re going to pay a state sales tax, a county sales tax and a city sales tax. That’s how it normally works.”
There are six licensed dispensaries in Columbia and one in Boone County.
“Instead of trying to play catch up, it’s doing it now when people still have the memory of passing the constitutional amendment,” Thompson said. “Moving as one just makes more sense. Any kind of educational process you can do for everybody at the same time.”
According to Thompson, it’s too hard to tell how much money would come in with this tax.
“The opportunity right now for Boone County if the courts determine the only sales tax that the county would be able to collect from the dispensary outside of Columbia, that’s going to be pretty minimal I would expect,” Thompson said.
Boone County is planning to put the money gained in its general fund.
“When you look at the pie chart that says where sales tax for Boone county goes, the vast majority of sales tax goes into two areas of the county,” Thompson said. “It goes into public safety and roads and bridges. Any Sales tax that comes in would be distributed along the same lines as the pie chart now.”
The City of Columbia previously said the additional 3% tax would go into effect in October. The city estimates it will collect between $400,000 and $1 million in the first year.