Davis, California, Recreational Marijuana Business License Tax, Measure C (June 2016)
| Measure C: Davis Recreational Marijuana Business License Tax |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| June 7, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local marijuana tax |
| Related articles |
| Local marijuana tax on the ballot June 7, 2016 ballot measures in California Yolo County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Davis, California |
A marijuana business license tax measure was on the ballot for Davis voters in Yolo County, California, on June 7, 2016. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of establishing a business license tax on sellers of recreational marijuana of up to 10 percent of the annual gross receipts, subject to the legalization of such businesses in the state and in the city of Davis. |
| A no vote was a vote against establishing a business license tax on recreational marijuana retailers of up to 10 percent of annual gross receipts. |
Measure C was on the ballot before recreational marijuana was legalized in California through Proposition 64 on November 8, 2016.
Election results
| Davis, Measure C | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 17,449 | 78.92% | ||
| No | 4,660 | 21.08% | ||
- Election results from Yolo County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
Shall Ordinance 2469 be adopted to add Article 19.04.100 to the Davis Municipal Code to establish a business license tax on non medical (recreational) marijuana businesses within the city of no more than 10% of annual gross receipts of the business, which is estimated to raise $200,000 annually if recreational marijuana sales are legalized and the City amends zoning to authorize marijuana businesses within City limits, and which will continue until repealed by City Council or city voters?`[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Davis City Attorney:
| “ |
Measure C, if approved by a majority of the voters voting on the measure, will adopt Ordinance 2469 adding Article 19.04.100 to the Davis Municipal Code to establish a business license tax of not more than 10% of the annual gross receipts of non-medical (recreational) marijuana businesses, if such recreational marijuana businesses become legal and permitted in the City of Davis. The City currently imposes a business license tax on businesses operating within the City (Davis Municipal Code Chapter 19). Businesses pay this tax at different rates based on the type of business being conducted. If approved, Measure C would impose an annual business license tax of up to 10% on the gross receipts of marijuana businesses, defined to include any facility, building, structure or location, whether fixed, mobile, permanent or temporary, which plants, cultivates, harvests, transports, manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, prepares, stores, packages, distributes, or provides wholesale or retail sales of marijuana, excluding dispensaries that only provide medical marijuana for medical purposes. Legal cultivation of marijuana for personal use is also excluded from this tax. Measure C authorizes the City Council to set, by resolution, a lower tax rate, and to increase such tax rate, so long as the tax does not to exceed the maximum rate of 10% per year. Like the City’s existing business license tax, the business license tax on non-medical marijuana businesses would be a general tax on legally operating businesses, meaning that the revenue raised from the tax would go into the City's general fund and could be used for any legal governmental purpose. Existing State law does not currently authorize the sale of non-medical (recreational) marijuana, and marijuana businesses are not currently permitted to locate or operate within the City under the City’s Zoning Ordinance. If approved, Measure C would only generate business license taxes on recreational marijuana businesses in the event recreational marijuana businesses become legal under State law and the City amends its Zoning Code to permit or authorize legal recreational marijuana businesses to locate and operate within the City. In this event, Measure C is estimated to raise $200,000 annually. Ordinance 2469 was passed and adopted and approved for placement on the ballot as Measure C by the City Council of the City of Davis on February 16, 2016. If approved, Measure C will continue in effect until repealed by City Council or City voters.[2] |
” |
| —Davis City Attorney[3] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[3]
- Dan Wolk, Mayor
- Brett Lee, City Councilmember
- Robb Davis, Mayor Pro Tempore
- Lucas Frerichs, City Councilmember
- Rochelle Swanson, City Councilmember
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[3]
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Measure C would require any business that sells nonmedical marijuana, if such sales are legalized statewide, to pay a business license tax to operate in Davis. The tax would be calculated based on the gross receipts of that business, up to a total of 10% of sales for non-medical marijuana. Currently, several other municipalities have local taxes on the books for the sale of marijuana. It is our concern that if we do not also have local taxes in place, we could find that our community becomes a destination for those seeking “low cost” marijuana. Also, all businesses in Davis pay a business license tax based on gross receipts, so this requirement is not an unusual cost of doing business. As of this writing, several statewide campaigns are in process to place a ballot initiative on the California November 2016 election to legalize the non-medical use of marijuana. While it is not clear which initiative may make it to the voters, nor what the voters will decide statewide, it is clear that it would be prudent to prepare for the possibility that non-medical marijuana may be approved by the California voters in the future. The City of Davis currently does not permit medical marijuana dispensaries to operate within the city. Measure C does not propose to place a tax on the sale of medical marijuana. Let’s keep the playing field fair and make sure that any marijuana business that chooses to locate in Davis in the future helps to fund general services in the city, such as public safety, parks and infrastructure. Join us in voting YES on MEASURE C.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
Thomas Randall, Jr., a Davis city resident, signed the official argument against the measure.[3]
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[3]
| “ |
The Davis City Council just continues to seek additional taxes by placing one measure on the ballot after another year by year. Now the city council has placed Measure C on the ballot as an excise tax on businesses that would sell marijuana for recreational use which if passed would place the 9th or 10th tax assessment that would go into effect citywide depending on whether or not Measure B also passes as well as any statewide ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana the future. Davis is in the uncommon situation of already being an excessively taxed city and although a marijuana tax like many other additional sin taxes i.e. on alcohol and tobacco products may make sense in other jurisdictions but this proposal to the contrary just represents a continuous problem of poor judgment by the city council regarding economic policy in Davis as it is so excessively eager to impose new taxes as indicated by this action of placing Measure C on the ballot. The revenue collected from this excise tax would go into the city's general fund and would not likely be spent on programs that should be a priority for such expenditures such as for infrastructure maintenance and improvement needs i.e. streets etc. as has been the case in the past with other allot measures proposing the same funding scheme as Measure O the 1/2 cent sales tax increase of two (2) years ago in 2014. Vote NO on Measure C as it represents the continence of poor economic policy in Davis.[2] |
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Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Davis City Council.[3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Davis recreational marijuana business tax Measure C. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Yolo Elections Office, "Voter Guide for June 7, 2016," accessed May 18, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Yolo Elections Office, "City of Davis, Measure B," accessed May 18, 2016
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