House Bill 91, legislation that would implement tax relief by reducing the excise tax, taxes imposed on certain goods, services, and activities, on marijuana, from $50 per ounce to $12.50 per ounce was heard over the weekend in the House State Affairs Committee.
The bill would also implement a transition period to repeal the excise tax altogether, and impose a sales tax on marijuana sales.
in 2014 Alaskans voted to legalize recreational marijuana and since then a legal marijuana industry ahs grown significantly.
“House Bill 91 is actually a revival of the. Bill from the previous legislature in its exact replica of what we saw towards the end of the last legislature,” said bill sponsor Ashley Carrick, “That legislation was House Bill 119, and a fun fact is that all members who were a part of this legislature last cycle, excluding Representative Holland on this committee, not only had a chance to consider that legislation, but did vote for it when it passed across the House floor last year.”
In response to industry concerns, Gov. Mike Dunleavy previously convened the Advisory Task Force on recreational marijuana, its number one recommendation was marijuana tax reform.
Carrick said HB91 would help to reduce black market criminal sales of marijuana.
“After initial growth, the industry has seen stagnation over the past few years. This has once again opened the door to the exact same black market activity for sales that many voters for the initiative were trying to avoid in the first place,” Carrick said.
The bill also allows marijuana establishments to pay their taxes quarterly, instead of monthly, in fiscal year 2024 the marijuana industry brought in over $27 million half of that money, roughly $13.5 million went into the recidivism reduction fund, and an additional 25% roughly $6.7 million went into the marijuana education and treatment fund.
