Homeless in Arizona

The taxes proposed are:

an occupational license tax based on 17 percent of the previous year's gross receipts

a flat-rate registration tax of $560,000 on medical marijuana retail businesses and $920,000 on cultivation sites.

a $50 per square foot for cultivation and infusion sites

a $280 per square foot for retail locations or lounges.

a law requiring dispensaries transporting marijuana to use certified secure transport providers to ferry their products to and from locations with a service fee not to exceed $175 per mile.

Under the RAD initiative none of these taxes would be allowed.

Under the final version of the Safer Arizona initiative written by marijuana lawyer Tom Dean all of the taxes and zoning regulations would probably be legal.

Under the initial version of the Safer Arizona initiative that me, Alex and Dave wrote none of the taxes or zoning regulations would be allowed.

But I was kicked off the Safer Arizona board of directors for complaining that Tom Dean was turning the Safer Arizona initiative into a mini-version of the evil Prop 205 initiative written by MPP or the Marijuana Policy Project.

And marijuana criminal defense attorney Tom Dean watered down the Safer Arizona initiative and removed many of the protections for marijuana users we placed in it.

The $280 a square foot tax on businesses that sell marijuana would be almost a $1 million tax on most standard sized Circle Ks and 7/11s which are about 3,500 square foot. The exact tax would be $980,000 for a 3,500 square foot building.

The article didn't say if the tax is a one time tax or a yearly tax. Giving how our elected officials shake people down for money, I suspect it would be a yearly tax.

Source Also see: ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11}

Phoenix Mayor Proposes Massive Taxes on Medical-Marijuana Dispensaries

JOSEPH FLAHERTY | SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 | 9:38AM

The mayor of Phoenix is prepared to levy a significant new tax on medical marijuana businesses that could decimate the city's dispensaries and raise costs for patients.

In a letter to the Phoenix city manager on Thursday, Mayor Thelda Williams proposed an occupational licensing tax on medical-marijuana businesses in order to fund Phoenix's police and fire departments.

The letter, obtained by Phoenix New Times, directs City Manager Ed Zuercher to place a possible tax and licensing program for marijuana-related operators in Phoenix on the October 2 City Council agenda.

The city's looking at options with big numbers, like maybe an occupational license tax based on 17 percent of the previous year's gross receipts, or a flat-rate registration tax of $560,000 on medical marijuana retail businesses and $920,000 on cultivation sites.

J.P. Holyoak, the founder of medical-marijuana supplier Arizona Natural Selections, said that a $560,000 tax on retail locations would be prohibitive.

“That puts us all out of business. Every single one of us,” he told New Times on Thursday.

"What they’re trying to do is they’re trying to tax us out of existence. They’re essentially trying to overturn the medical-marijuana law by taxing it out of existence,” Holyoak said.

In Williams' view, the city would essentially use pot to fund police officers.

“We have recently received information from the Police and Fire Chiefs indicating that our public safety resources in Phoenix are strained," Williams wrote. "It is clear to me that we are unable to keep up with the public safety needs of our City due to financial constraints.”

In order to bring in revenue for public safety, Williams added, her office has been examining new revenue sources. She proposes a new structure to license and tax medical-marijuana operators.

Williams wrote in her letter that the new tax option is meant "to protect the local concerns of public health, safety, quality of life and the well-being of the City’s residents and visitors.”

According to a report attached to Williams’ letter, the program would require an occupational license or a registration tax to operate a dispensary cultivation site, retail dispensary location, or public consumption lounge.

Several potential options for the new tax are outlined in the letter, with backup plans for a new tax in case the courts invalidate the first option.

One tax is calculated based on square footage: $50 per square foot for cultivation and infusion sites and $280 per square foot for retail locations or lounges.

If that is invalidated by the courts, a second option is listed as 17 percent of the operator's gross business receipts during the previous year. [Remember the Boston Tea Party was over a lousy .75% or 3% tax depending on which story is correct] Finally, if that possibility is ruled out, a third option is for a flat-rate registration tax of $920,000 on each cultivation site and $560,000 on each retail location or lounge.

However, if all those tax types are invalidated by the courts, the report says, Phoenix will require dispensaries transporting marijuana to use certified secure transport providers to ferry their products to and from locations with a service fee not to exceed $175 per mile.

In an emailed statement to New Times, Williams said, "Phoenix’s Police and Fire departments have many needs and face serious challenges. Today, funding for public safety is simply not where it needs to be."

"On Oct. 2, the City Council will consider a creative approach to finding a new revenue source to help fund public safety," Williams continued. "The proposal is in no way an attempt to single out medical marijuana businesses that operate legally in the city, but a proposal to establish a revenue structure for a growing industry that adds pressure to public safety.”

Despite the claim of public safety issues, though, city staff say in an October 2 agenda for the Planning and Economic Development Subcommittee, "Based on the numerous reviews of existing non-profit medical marijuana dispensaries, there are not significant public-safety issues or detrimental effects from these establishments."

Because dispensaries aren't a problem, staff recommend allowing them to extend their hours to 10 p.m.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that one registration tax proposal is based on 17 percent of the marijuana operator's gross profits during the previous year. The proposal is to tax gross receipts, not profits.

Source

Phoenix Mayor proposing hefty tax on marijuana businesses for public safety funding

By: Courtney Griffin

POSTED: SEP 28 2018 07:53PM MST

VIDEO POSTED: SEP 28 2018 09:46PM MST

UPDATED: SEP 28 2018 09:47PM MST

PHOENIX (KSAZ) -- Should marijuana dispensaries, cultivation sites, retail business locations and public consumption lounges be subjected to a tax to help fund Phoenix Police and Fire Departments?

Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams announced this idea yesterday to the city manager.

Fox 10's Courtney Griffin spoke with a small business owner and customers who say they support public safety, but also believe there is a better way to go about this.

The idea is to tax medical dispensaries to help fund public safety.

"I have no problem with that. Firemen and police don't have a problem showing up to our house when we need help, do they?" said a customer.

Mayor Williams says the police and fire departments are strained and unable to keep up with the public safety needs due to financial constraints.

"I'm very sympathetic and understand there is a deficit, and we need to cover it, and I'm happy to be a part of the solution. I just don't think the way they are doing it is far. We shouldn't carry the whole burden.

But Lilach Power, owner of Giving Tree Wellness, say sit can't be funded by small business owners, and the cost would be outrageous, forcing them to possibly leave the city or turn around and thrown that additional cost on patients.

"We are going to have to roll it on 178,000 patients in the whole state to cover for this. Some cultivation will just leave the city. Patients will go to other cities because it's going to be cheaper," Power said.

In this letter from the mayor to the city manager, there are several options on how the money would be collected. The letter states the occupational license tax in method would cost $50 per square foot for the cultivation and infusion sites and $280 per square foot used for retail or public consumption space. [Is that a yearly tax? monthly tax? One time tax?]

Another option would be 17 percent of the business gross receives from the previous 12 months or a flat rate tax.

"On the cultivation side, it can get up to almost a $1 million, $980,000 a year. It depends on the size of your cultivation. There's just no way to compete in the market if this is the kind of taxes you need to pay. They're just going to leave. We won't be able to do it," Power said.

The mayor states that as it stands now aside from some fees to the Arizona Department of Health Services, the dispensaries are only asked to pay sales tax on their retail sales activities at 2.3 percent.

The letter also mentions that if there is an emergency at a cultivation or production site, first responders have an increased risk responding due to lack of information on the current layouts, hazardous chemicals and materials because of restricted regulatory inspections that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act enforces.

"I'm all for helping the community. I have several friends who are firefighters, you know, police officers. So I need as much help as they get get, however, this is a place where people to come from medicine and let's not exploit that. Let's meet somewhere in the middle," said a patient.

We reached out to the mayor's office, but they declined our request to comment.

Phoenix dispensary owners are gathering for an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss their options.

As for Mayor Williams' idea, it will be presented to the city council on Tuesday and dispensary owners plan to be at that meeting.

Initiative to re-legalize Marijuana & Hashish in Arizona

100% complete re-legalization of marijuana & hashish 1. The government shall recognize that marijuana abuse is NOT a criminal problem but a medical problem.

2. The government shall NOT tax, regulate, or pass any laws governing the use of marijuana.

3. The government shall NOT assist any other government entities, such as Federal, foreign, world, Native American or state governments in enforcing any laws against marijuana.

4. The government shall NOT pass any guide lines, rules, regulations or laws discriminating against people or entities that use marijuana. Such as laws that limit a marijuana user's guns rights or parental rights.

5. Any person convicted of any marijuana offense in the past shall automatically have their criminal record cleared of those charges and automatically receive a full pardon for those charges.

6. Any person arrested for any marijuana offense in the past who accepted a plea bargain for reduced charges shall automatically have their criminal record cleared of those reduced charges and automatically receive a full pardon for those reduced charges.

7. Any government employee, agent, elected official, judge, law enforcement officer or prosecutor that arrests a person, violates a person's rights, passes a law or issues a ruling, guideline or edict that that interferes with a person's marijuana use shall be personally and civilly liable to each person for each incident for a minimum of $1 million in damages or 10 times the actual amount of damages whichever is greater. There shall be no immunity to a person who claims to be "acting in good faith" or for any other reason.

8 . All government courts shall accept cases involving marijuana use, and decide the case based on the oral, written, or other contracts of the parties involved. Courts may not refuse cases by saying that marijuana is illegal under Federal law, international law, or other laws.

9. Definitions: For this initiative the word "marijuana" refers to any form of marijuana, cannabis, hashish or hemp and includes concentrated forms such as THC, CBD, hash, hash oil, wax, shatter and all other forms. This includes any form of "marijuana use": recreational, religious, medical, commercial, industrial or any other use. This includes all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not, the seeds of such plant, the resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant, its seeds or its resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such resin or tetrahydrocannabinol. Shall include, but not be limited to; all paraphernalia for marijuana use, such as pipes, bongs, cigarette papers or dabbing tools.

10. "Marijuana use" shall be defined as; but shall not be limited to: using, smoking, vaping, eating, consuming, drinking, snorting, transdermal delivery, injecting, sale, transfer, growth, cultivating, manufacture, processing, cooking, production, storage, possession, giving legal advice, transportation, or importation of marijuana.