Nevada Senate Passes Bill to Make a 10% Sales Tax on Recreational Marijuana

Sarah Parfitt June 6, 2017 Nevada Marijuana News

State Marijuana Law

With less than a month before recreational marijuana sales begin in Nevada, the back-and-forth over the proposed recreational sales tax may be over. Two prior failed attempts required revisions to be made on Senate Bill 487. A compromise was finally reached late Sunday night.

The Senate approved the revised bill on Sunday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Assembly passed the bill on Monday, the last day of the state’s legislative session. To pass the bill, it required a 2/3 majority vote.

Republicans were holding up the progress of Senate Bill 487 because there wasn’t an agreement on funding the Education Savings Account (ESA). That funding would help parents afford tutoring, tuition for private schooling and books. A bit of back and forth between Republicans and Democrats regarding the ESA made it hard to come to an agreement.

Republicans accused Democrats of going back on a deal to include funding for the ESA. Other portions of the bill were not passed previously due to a refusal to vote.

Without the inclusion of the ESA funding proposal, lawmakers revived the bill and passed the necessary tax bill. They received the required amount of Republican votes.

Recreational marijuana taxes will be:

10 percent on recreational sales
Revenue deposits into the state general fund
Medical marijuana will be taxed at the 15-percent wholesale tax on recreational cultivators
Businesses selling both recreational and medical marijuana will have to separate plants
Local business licensing fees can’t be more than 3-percent of its gross revenue.

Assembly Bill 422, regarding medical marijuana, is also awaiting Governor Sandoval’s signature.

The key pieces of Assembly Bill 422 include: