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Alaska Collects Nearly $150,000 in Marijuana Taxes in December

Alaska Marijuana Taxes

December was the second full month of recreational marijuana sales in Alaska. The taxes collected totaled $145,800, even with a statewide supply shortage.

Alaskan marijuana business owners are finding out just how much of a pain it is to not have access to banks, according to Juneau Empire. The legally operating businesses cannot pay their tax bills electronically. Some are hoping that the banking institutions helping marijuana businesses in Colorado, Oregon and Washington will setup shop in Alaska.

One business owner, James Barrett, said, “So far, so good. We’re able to pay our taxes on time. That’s a big responsibility.” Barrett had to fly to Juneau to make his tax payment.

Marijuana sales are taxed a little differently in Alaska. Cultivators pay $15 tax per pound of trim/leaves/plant parts. Taxes paid on dry flower are set at $50 per ounce. The taxes collected are the equivalent of 167 pounds of marijuana sold and 46 pounds of trim and plant parts.

Cultivators aren’t working at full capacity yet. Rainforest Farms is slowly building its operations at the close of each month. Profits are used to purchase more cultivation equipment to increase their grow.

Barrett said, “On our end, we’re doing what the (legalization) initiative promised, and so that’s a good thing.”