Pot tax misses target
The National Post reports in its Monday, Feb. 3, edition that marijuana has not proven to be the cash crop the government expected, with cannabis excise tax revenues coming in at about half the original estimates. The Post's Ryan Tumilty writes that in the first fiscal year that marijuana was legalized, 2018-2019, the government took in $18-million in cannabis revenues, but had expected to take in $35-million. This year the government expected it would bring in $100-million, but now estimates it will see only $66-million. The government believes that number will continue to rise to $135-million next year and a steady increase until $220-million in 2023, according to a response to a question on the House of Commons' order paper. Those numbers represent only the federal taxes, with provincial taxes also being added to the purchase price. Before cannabis was legalized, the federal and provincial governments worked out a deal to split revenue from marijuana taxes, with 75 per cent of the money going to the provinces. The excise tax is $1 per gram and comes on top of GST and HST. As part of the agreement with the provinces, the amount of money that goes to Ottawa was also capped at $100-million for the first two years. © 2020 Canjex Publishing Ltd. |
