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Rio Dell, California, Marijuana Tax, Measure X (November 2017)
| Measure X: Rio Dell Marijuana Tax |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local marijuana tax |
| Related articles |
| Local marijuana tax on the ballot November 7, 2017 ballot measures in California Humboldt County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Rio Dell, California |
A marijuana tax measure was on the ballot for Rio Dell voters in Humboldt County, California, on November 7, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city to levy a tax on marijuana businesses at a maximum rate of $5 per square foot of growing space for cultivators or 10 percent of a business's gross receipts, with initial rates of $2 per square foot and 2 percent and limitations on how much the tax could be increased by the city council in a given year. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing the city to levy a tax on marijuana businesses at a maximum rate of $5 per square foot of growing space for cultivators or 10 percent of a business's gross receipts, with initial rates of $2 per square foot and 2 percent and limitations on how much the tax could be increased by the city council in a given year. |
Measure X was designed to allow the city of Rio Dell to tax marijuana cultivators at either a percentage of their gross revenue or by the square footage of their operation. City officials stated that revenue from Measure X goes into the city's general fund and that the taxes can raise $980,000 per year.[1]
In the previous election on November 8, 2016, Humboldt County voters approved a tax measure establishing a marijuana cultivation tax of $1 to $3 per square foot.
Election results
| Measure X | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 353 | 80.96% | ||
| No | 83 | 19.04% | ||
- Election results from Humboldt County Election Results
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Shall the ordinance creating a new business tax of up to give dollars per square foot of space utilized for certain commercial cannabis cultivation activity and, for other commercial cannabis activity, a tax of up to ten percent of gross receipts be adopted, with all proceeds placed in the City's General Fund to be used for any governmental purpose? The tax imposed by this Ordinance is expected to generate $980,000 in annual revenue and will continue in effect until later repealed.[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Rio Dell City Attorney:
| “ |
The City Council is submitting to the voters the question of whether to approve an ordinance enacting a tax on commercial cannabis activity within the City of Rio Dell to fund City services and facilities, such as improving police protection, repairing streets and potholes, and improving other City services and facilities. The ordinance creates a range of tax rates the City Council may impose from time to time. For persons authorized by permit to engage in commercial cannabis cultivation, the tax rate is either: (a) $0.00 to $5.00 for each square foot of cultivation space allowed by the permit or (b) 0% to 10% of the business’ gross receipts. As part of the ordinance, the City Council elected to set the initial tax rate at $2.00 per square foot for all commercial cultivation activity, except for persons authorized by permit to operate a nursery, who will be taxed at the rate of 2% of gross receipts. For all other authorized commercial cannabis activity within the City, the tax rate range is 0% to 10% of the business’ gross receipts. As part of the ordinance, the City Council elected to set the initial tax rate at 2% of gross receipts. If the ordinance is approved, the City Council retains the discretion to adjust the applicable tax rate within the range of rates in the future without seeking voter approval. The City Council may not, however, increase the tax rate more than once per calendar year and may not increase the currently imposed rate by more than $1.00 per square foot or 2% of gross receipts at a time. The proposed ordinance imposes a tax only upon those persons engaged in commercial cannabis activity under a permit issued by the City. The tax is not imposed upon persons cultivating cannabis for their personal use. The tax proceeds would be deposited into the City’s general fund and be available to support the full range of municipal services. Because this measure does not legally restrict the use of tax revenue to any specific purposes, it is classified as a “general tax,” not a “special tax.” The tax proceeds cannot legally be taken away by the State. The tax proceeds would be subject to the same independent annual audit requirements as other general fund revenue. The audit report would be a matter of public record. A “Yes” vote is a vote in favor of the tax. A “No” vote is a vote against the tax. This measure would be approved if it receives a simple majority of “Yes” votes.[3] |
” |
| —Rio Dell City Attorney[4] | ||
Support
Arguments in favor
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[5]
Opposition
If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Rio Dell City Council.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Rio Dell Local marijuana tax Measure X. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Rio Dell, "What is Measure X? Inside Rio Dell’s Cannabis Taxation Measure," October 11, 2017
- ↑ 'Voters Edge, "November 7, 2017 - Humboldt County, California," accessed September 22, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Humboldt County Elections Office, "Rio Dell Measure X Impartial Analysis," accessed September 22, 2017
- ↑ City of Rio Dell, "Ballot and Voter Information Guide," accessed October 24, 2017
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