City to lobby for 10 percent cannabis tax
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Oregon Legislature took a chunk of the money cities were receiving for allowing cannabis businesses to operate and instead sent it to help fund programs associated with Oregon Measure 110. That’s the ballot measure that essentially decriminalized the possession of lower amounts of narcotics.
“The state marijuana tax that used to go to the cities now goes almost entirely for support programs for Measure 110,” Pendleton Mayor John Turner said. “That put a big dent in the amount of money that the cities were receiving.”
Turner said the League of Oregon Cities plans to lobby in favor of an individual city marijuana tax as will the city. They currently receive taxes of 3 percent through the state.
“What we would like to see is for the cities to be able to tax cannabis sales for up to 10 percent and that would backfill those dollars that we’re no longer getting from the state,” he said.
Turner said most of the money the city received has been used for roads.
