St. Louis City Voters Say Yes to New Recreational Marijuana Tax

VIA SWADE CANNABIS

Recreational cannabis sold at dispensaries in St. Louis city and county will see an additional 3 percent sales tax.

St. Louis city residents have decided they’re OK with paying a bit more for their pot.

With more than 62 percent of the vote, St. Louis residents have passed a proposition that will allow the city to levy an additional sales tax of 3 percent on the sale of recreational-use marijuana. The city tax will be stacked with Missouri’s existing 6 percent retail sales tax.

Profits from the tax will be added to the city’s general fund. Currently, 36 percent of the St. Louis’ general fund revenues come from the city’s 1 percent earning tax.

The ballot measure came from a board bill sponsored by St. Louis Alderman Brandon Bosley. In December, Bosley told the RFT that the tax could generate about $300,000 annually. He said he hoped the revenue would address “historic inequities,” though what that might mean was not set in stone.

“There’s a plethora of ideas that are being thrown around,” Bosley said at the time.

St. Louis city is not alone in considering the question of new recreational marijuana taxes. More than 100 counties and municipalities, including St. Louis County, had similar measures on their ballots, according to the St. Louis American.

With the measure leading 64.9 percent to 35.05 percent with half of polling places reporting, voters seem to have overwhelmingly passed Proposition M in the county as well.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Proposition M drew attention because it’s unclear if the language of Amendment 3 allows the county and municipalities to stack taxes, which might mean that a new county tax could only be collected in unincorporated areas.

Missouri Department of Revenue spokeswoman Anne Marie Moy told St. Louis Public Radio that she expects the question to be answered in court.