Marijuana tax revenue exceeds that of alcohol in Massachusetts
By State House News Service | February 7, 2022, 2:44 PM EST
Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2022/02/07/marijuana-tax-revenue-surpasses-that-of-alcohol-in-massachusetts/
By Meg McIntyre
State House Press Service
With the fiscal year halfway through, state revenue from the marijuana excise tax exceeds alcohol revenue.
As of December 2021, the state had so far collected approximately $74.2 million in marijuana excise tax for fiscal year 2022, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. That month, tax revenue from alcohol hit $51.3 million year-to-date, according to ministry data.
Financial year 2021 was the first year weed overtook alcohol, with the state collecting $92.7 million on alcohol and $112.4 million on marijuana excise tax. In fiscal year 2020, marijuana had fallen behind at $51.7 million in revenue, compared to $87.6 million for alcohol.
Cannabis and alcohol taxes are structured and applied differently. The state levies a 10.25% excise tax on consumer purchases of marijuana in addition to local option tax of up to 3% and 6.25% state sales tax . Excise on alcohol is volume-based and paid by the producer.
The new legal market has also been a boon for cities and towns. Local Marijuana Option Tax revenue had reached nearly $20.6 million in fiscal 2022 as of December 2021, compared to approximately $13.3 million in December of fiscal 2021. Local revenue have grown steadily over the past three years, except for a brief slowdown caused by the pandemic shutdowns.
Between December 2018 and May 2019, adult-use marijuana brought in nearly $2.9 million in local tax revenue, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and the following fiscal year, which ended in June 2020, cannabis brought in about $14.4 million for cities and towns. . In fiscal 2021, the local options tax brought in more than double to $31.3 million.
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