New Colorado bill corrects marijuana tax funding error that stiffed RTD, SCFD

Published: Mar 9, 2018, 11:21 am • Updated: Mar 9, 2018, 11:21 am

By Karen Antonacci, The Daily Camera

Special districts that affect Boulder County residents can now collect marijuana tax revenues again after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill that corrects an error enacted in July.

Last year, the Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Bill 17-267, which exempted retail marijuana from the state sales tax of 2.9 percent, raised the special tax on retail marijuana from 10 percent to 15 percent and allocated the state government’s share of the tax revenues between three different state funds. The bill went into effect on July 17.

Related: Why Colorado’s special legislative session on pot-tax error left everyone empty-handed

In raising the retail marijuana tax, however, the general assembly stiffed special districts, including the Regional Transportation District and the Science and Cultural Facilities District.

Because the General Assembly exempted retail marijuana from the state sales tax of 2.9 percent and RTD and the SCFD can only levy taxes on items that the state levies sales tax, the two special districts suddenly lost out on a portion of their revenue.

Read the full story at DailyCamera.com

Topics: Colorado, Colorado legislature, John Hickenlooper, state taxes