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Illegal drug dealers have the best lobbyists
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 2:02 pm
by Turdacious
"A lot of people think that the marijuana industry is just a license to print money," said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. "And it's just not the case."
West works for an association of more than 750 cannabis-related businesses across the United States, and says that 280E results in her clients paying more than 70% of their profits in taxes to the federal government.
Sometimes, the rates are far higher than that.
"A lot of times, instead of paying a tax rate that should be 30 to 40%, they are paying rates between 80 or 90%," Cornelius, the accountant, said. "I even have a client right now that is paying more than 100% effective tax rate."
Woolhiser is hoping that increased sales this year will make up for the loss he took last year — but he is still paying off his debt to the IRS.
"The problem is that we have passed laws that allowed these medical marijuana and recreational marijuana companies to do business," said Mac Clouse, a University of Denver finance professor who studies the industry. "But we have all these other laws, tax laws, federal laws that make it incredibly difficult if not utterly impossible to survive."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... /18165033/
Re: Illegal drug dealers have the best lobbyists
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:35 pm
by DrDonkeyLove
Turdacious wrote:"A lot of people think that the marijuana industry is just a license to print money," said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. "And it's just not the case."
West works for an association of more than 750 cannabis-related businesses across the United States, and says that 280E results in her clients paying more than 70% of their profits in taxes to the federal government.
Sometimes, the rates are far higher than that.
"A lot of times, instead of paying a tax rate that should be 30 to 40%, they are paying rates between 80 or 90%," Cornelius, the accountant, said. "I even have a client right now that is paying more than 100% effective tax rate."
Woolhiser is hoping that increased sales this year will make up for the loss he took last year — but he is still paying off his debt to the IRS.
"The problem is that we have passed laws that allowed these medical marijuana and recreational marijuana companies to do business," said Mac Clouse, a University of Denver finance professor who studies the industry. "But we have all these other laws, tax laws, federal laws that make it incredibly difficult if not utterly impossible to survive."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... /18165033/
So, legal MJ is almost impossible to sell profitably, and to sell it profitably the cost will have to go up up up. But, cops aren't going to bust you for possession and they can't tell where your weed came from anyway. Thus, the legalization of weed may have made life easier and more profitable for your neighborhood pot dealer (and the cartels). The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
Re: Illegal drug dealers have the best lobbyists
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:27 pm
by Turdacious
I liked the part about the guy who has a 100% effective tax rate, but thinks that more sales will help his profits. He really needs to stop dipping into the stash.
Re: Illegal drug dealers have the best lobbyists
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:52 pm
by Fat Cat
If only it were something easy to grow, like a weed.
Re: Illegal drug dealers have the best lobbyists
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 6:11 pm
by Blaidd Drwg
I have friend working the supply side in Wa. It's just now getting rolling and the paperwork is mind-boggling. I've done large scale aquaculture and oyster culture operations in California that were ridiculously easy to permit by comparison.