Daniel Marsh: Marijuana legalization costs will be high, so taxing sales is a good idea
The city of Modesto will have Measure T on the November ballot for voters to approve a 10 percent sales tax on legal retail sales of cannabis or marijuana sold within the city limits. I hope voters approve this measure for a few simple reasons. It would help insure that city services like for fire, police and everything else would have less chance of being impacted. Also, other taxes would not have to be increased.
It is surprising that other cities around Stanislaus County aren’t proposing such sales taxes. We must prepare for the implementation of legal sales of marijuana in a way that would lessen the impact on local governments. Regulation costs may be very high to start. Vote yes on Measure T in November.
Daniel Marsh, Modesto
This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Daniel Marsh: Marijuana legalization costs will be high, so taxing sales is a good idea."