Pubdate: Thu, 17 Sep 2015
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2015 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Kristen Wyatt, the Associated Press

COLORADO POT BUYERS SAVE $20 AN OUNCE IN ONE-DAY TAX HOLIDAY

Growers Benefit, Too, Saving $300 a Pound

DENVER - Tim Cullen smiled when he reckoned a one-day marijuana tax 
holiday in Colorado had probably saved him tens of thousands of dollars.

Cullen, the owner of Colorado Harvest Co., a chain of marijuana 
dispensaries, was among the many growers and shoppers who benefited 
Wednesday from a quirk that required the state to suspend a 10 
percent sales tax and a 15 percent wholesale excise tax for a day.

While shoppers saved roughly $20 an ounce, or about 33 cents per 
joint, pot growers saved $300 a pound.

"I probably saved $45,000 before lunch," Cullen said.

Looking over a small tangle of pot shoppers in his suburban Denver 
shop, Cullen said the crowds weren't huge but the tax break would be 
a big win anyway.

"This is just gravy," Cullen said about the shoppers.

The odd tax waiver was triggered almost two years ago when Colorado 
voters approved two taxes on recreational marijuana - a 10 percent 
sales tax for shoppers and a 15 percent excise tax for wholesale growers.

Ahead of that vote, state tax analysts miscalculated overall state 
revenue for 2014. The error triggered a mandatory suspension of the 
new pot taxes.

Lawmakers decided to waive the taxes only for a single day, though 
voters will have to return to polls in November to authorize the 
state to keep some $50 million in pot taxes collected in 2014.

Confused? So were many shoppers Wednesday - but they loaded up on 
lower-cost weed anyway.

"I'm just going to buy a little more than I normally do and hold onto 
it," said 41-year-old Tim Persoff.

Some out-of-state visitors were shocked to see the virtually tax-free 
sale. (Pot sales were still subject to local taxes and Colorado's 
basic 2.9 percent sales tax.)

"I saw online there was some kind of loophole on the taxes, so I had 
to come buy some," said David Illig of Onawa, Iowa, who was driving 
to California.

Colorado tracks marijuana sales but doesn't make the data public, 
making it impossible to know if Wednesday set a single-day sales 
record. Several retailers said the day was akin to a busy holiday weekend.

In a tally made final Tuesday, Colorado reported that it collected 
much more in marijuana-specific taxes last year than in alcohol-specific taxes.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom