More cities consider additional marijuana sales tax Tuesday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A number of metropolis leaders in Missouri will talk about including a 3% gross sales tax on leisure marijuana at conferences tonight.

Independence, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, North Kansas Metropolis and Smithville all have the merchandise on their metropolis council or board of aldermen agendas tonight.

Cities should act on this matter earlier than January 24. Voters should approve the gross sales tax. The deadline to get a query on April 4’s poll is January 24 at 4 p.m. April 4 is a municipal election throughout Missouri.

Kansas Metropolis, Liberty, Grandview, Belton, Raymore, Riverside, Raytown and Kearney already took the required steps to put the query on April 4’s poll.

Voters accredited leisure marijuana in November. The state will gather an extra 6% in gross sales tax as soon as gross sales start later this 12 months. The modification accredited in November gave cities the choice to ask voters for approval to gather as much as 3% in further gross sales tax.

Each state and native taxes on leisure marijuana could be along with present gross sales taxes at present in place. Missouri collects 4.225% in gross sales tax. Jackson County collects about 1.375 p.c and Kansas Metropolis collects 3.25%. On this instance, the overall gross sales tax on leisure marijuana would complete 17.85% if voters approve Kansas Metropolis’s request so as to add the three% tax.

Most cities don’t anticipate gathering tens of millions of {dollars} from the tax. North Kansas Metropolis, which at present has one dispensary, anticipates it would gather between $50,000 and $80,000 via the proposed tax. Independence, which has 4 present dispensaries, predicts tax income to differ between $275,000 to $615,000 on an annual foundation.

Some cities plan to put tax income within the normal fund, others have extra particular plans. Liberty mentioned placing the cash towards public security. Independence wish to use revenues to renovate the police station. Kansas Metropolis earmarked the cash for neighborhood cleanup, homeless providers, and violence prevention efforts.

The state will use income from its 6% gross sales tax to fund regulation and enforcement of leisure marijuana in addition to a program to expunge information of individuals with marijuana-related offenses.

Missouri collects 4% in further gross sales tax on medical marijuana.