"An industry-sponsored bill moving through the Legislature - and already passed by the Assembly - would eliminate the tax increase and lower the rate back to 15% for the next six years. This would reduce by $180 million annually the tax revenue that the state contributes toward law enforcement, child care, services for at-risk youth and environmental cleanup. The losses include about $81 million annually that would have specifically funded additional subsidized child-care slots for about 8,000 children from low-income families."
"'They are choosing the cannabis industry over children and youth,' said Mary Ignatius, executive director of Parent Voices California, which represents parents receiving state subsidies to help pay for child care. Child care faces setbacks The tension over taxes for legal weed versus child care - both industries in crisis - highlights the inherent pitfalls of funding important social services with 'sin taxes,' whether it's alcohol, weed or tobacco - funding that experts say is often unstable and unsustainable."
California's cannabis excise tax rose from 15% to 19% on July 1 under a 2022 deal to stabilize the legal market. The industry says the increase is untenable amid falling revenues and illicit-market competition. An industry-backed bill passed by the Assembly would revert the rate to 15% for six years. The rollback would shave about $180 million annually from state funds that support law enforcement, child care, at-risk youth services and environmental cleanup. Roughly $81 million of the cuts would have financed subsidized child-care slots for about 8,000 low-income children. Child-care advocates warn the change would prioritize the cannabis industry over children and underscore the instability of sin-tax funding; the bill moves to the Senate.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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