Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 2009
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009sANG Newspapers
Contact: http://www.insidebayarea.com/feedback/tribune
Website: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/314
Author: Angela Woodall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

POT SEEN AS BUDGET POT OF GOLD

OAKLAND -- Come July, voters will have a chance to decide on tax 
measures -- including a levy on medical marijuana -- meant to help 
fill a gaping hole in the city's budget.

In a meeting that stretched well into Tuesday night, City Council 
members unanimously gave the go-ahead for a special July 21 ballot 
that will include a 1.8 percent business tax -- or $18 on every 
$1,000 -- in gross receipts earned by Oakland's medical marijuana dispensaries.

The proposal passed easily among the full City Council because the 
levy has the potential to generate about $300,000 in annual revenue 
for the city. The $18 figure was a compromise between the original 
proposal of $14 and the $24 figure that approximates the state's tax 
on cigarettes and alcohol, city officials said.

The $24 figure is the highest rate the city can tax businesses and is 
reserved only for firearm dealers, of which there are none in Oakland.

Dispensary owners were supportive of putting the tax proposal on the 
July 21 ballot because it opens the door for legitimizing medical marijuana.

Not all the tax proposals, however, made it through the council, 
which is desperately looking for ways to stanch a deficit that could 
reach $83 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Already on the ballot 
are measures to reduce mandated spending on youth programs, to raise 
the city's Hotel Tax, and close a loophole in the city's property 
transfer tax that exempts transfers of real estate through corporate 
mergers or acquisitions.

A proposed sales tax increase that would have put Oakland in the 
running for highest sales tax in the county didn't get enough votes 
to put it on the emergency ballot. The measure failed to get the 
necessary support because of concern the quarter-cent to half-cent 
sales tax would unduly burden low-income residents as well as make 
retail items in Oakland unattractive to consumers because of the 
higher cost of goods and services compared with its neighbors.

Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel) also decided to postpone 
her proposal for an annual $46 parcel tax that would have been used 
for maintenance of the city's more than 300 acres of parks, as well 
as tree-trimming and lighting.

Fees for the city's pools will go up slightly for all but youth swimmers.

In other business, council members approved a "one-stop" business 
center that would streamline the process of setting up shop in 
Oakland. Under the plan, businesses will be able to go to the center 
for information about licenses, permits, city regulations and 
referrals, as well as guidance about how to do business with the city 
and how to comply with its rules.

The center signified a "culture of change," said Councilmember Pat 
Kernighan, that facilitates doing business in Oakland instead of 
putting up "one obstacle after another." The bulk of the $435,000 
needed to open and staff the Oakland Business Assistance Center will 
come from redevelopment project funds.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom