Alaska Suprasses $1 Million in Marijuana Tax Revenue

The Alaska Department of Revenue reports that it has collected just over $1-million in marijuana tax revenue. Sales are increasing throughout the state. Marijuana growers had to pay May’s collected income taxes by June 30. The state collected $272,600 just from the sales tax of growers.

Since October 2016, the state has collected $1.2-million in marijuana tax revenue, according to Juneau Empire. The Department of Revenue previously estimated that it would collect $2-million for the fiscal year that just ended on July 1. However, it doesn’t appear that the state will reach that mark. It will likely be close.

Kelley Mazzei of the Department of Revenue Tax Division said, “Preliminary figures for June are ridiculously fantastic, and rough numbers indicate that tax collections could exceed $500,000!”

It is expected that revenues may increase as outdoor growers begin making their first harvests. Although outdoor growing is seasonal, the crops are larger than indoor farms.

Alaska’s rules may be a little confusing for some, cultivators pay state taxes. Retailers do not pay that tax.

Some believe that the state’s small tax revenue collections are due to the prohibition of outside investment groups being able to fund local businesses. The regulatory process in Alaska has also been slow. Businesses have had to bootstrap themselves to sustain. This process involves only slowly increasing production as profits allow them to.

Given the slow process, sales per pound have increased to retail shops. Retailers have purchased 289 pounds of marijuana flower from local farmers.