LOS ANGELES — Less than three months after California launched legal marijuana sales for adults, the state could consider slashing hefty tax rates that some say are driving buyers into the black market.
Growers and sellers in the nation’s largest legal marketplace have been complaining that taxes that in some cases top 40 percent are too high.
The state imposes a 15 percent excise tax, then local governments get a cut too. There are separate state taxes on cultivation, along with regular sales taxes.
Two state legislators Thursday proposed a plan to trim the excise tax to 11 percent from 15 percent, and temporarily suspend the cultivation taxes.
Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey and Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta say the current rates are undercutting legal operators by driving consumers to the illegal market.
