City of Santa Cruz Marijuana Tax, Measure L (November 2014)
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A City of Santa Cruz Marijuana Tax, Measure L ballot question was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the city of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County, California. It was approved.
Measure L authorized the city to impose a 7 percent tax on all gross receipts of marijuana businesses in the city. Measure L also authorized the city to increase this tax to up to 10 percent.[1]
The city finance director estimated that this tax would generate between $66,000 to $93,000 per year in revenue for the city. This revenue was designed to go into the city's general fund to be used for any governmental purpose in the city.[1]
Election results
| Santa Cruz City Measure L | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 13,894 | 82.21% | ||
| No | 3,007 | 17.79% | ||
Election results via: Santa Cruz County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question on the ballot:[1]
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To protect the quality of life in the City of Santa Cruz and to fund essential city services such as police, fire, emergency response, youth and senior programs, job creation, housing, and environmental protection, shall an ordinance be adopted to impose a tax of no more than 10% (7% when enacted) on gross receipts of cannabis (marijuana) businesses in the city, subject to audits, with all funds staying local?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis was prepared for this measure:[1]
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This ballot measure, if adopted by the voters, would add an ordinance to the Santa Cruz Municipal Code imposing a cannabis business tax on cannabis (marijuana) businesses which operate in the City. The ordinance authorizes the City Council to set a maximum tax rate of ten percent (10%) of gross receipts but sets the initial tax rate at seven percent (7%) of gross receipts. The ordinance broadly defines "cannabis business" to include any for-profit or nonprofit business which distributes, delivers, dispenses, exchanges, barters or sells either medical or non-medical cannabis and includes, but is not limited to, medical marijuana cooperatives and businesses, and any other business which transports, manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, prepares, stores, packages, sells at wholesale, or sells at retail, cannabis or products made of cannabis. The tax is a gross receipts tax imposed on cannabis businesses and is not a sales tax imposed on qualified patients, primary caregivers or other persons who purchase or otherwise acquire cannabis for their personal use. All cannabis business tax revenue will be deposited in the City's General Fund. General Fund revenue is used by the City to pay for the provision of municipal services to City residents and visitors including the provision of essential City services. Because the proposed cannabis business tax would be imposed for general municipal governmental purposes, the ballot measure proposes a "general tax" as defined by Article XIII of the California Constitution. Accordingly, for the ballot measure to be adopted, it must receive a simple majority "yes" vote. This ballot measure has been placed on the ballot by the Santa Cruz City Council.[2] |
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| —John G. Barisone, Santa Cruz City Attorney[1] | ||
See also
- Local marijuana tax on the ballot
- Santa Cruz County, California ballot measures
- November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California
External links
Footnotes
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