Moscow Mills’ Board of Aldermen passed Proposition “M,” an ordinance that will place a 3% sales tax on non-medicinal marijuana sold in the city, at its monthly meeting on Jan. 17. The ordinance will go on the April 4 municipal ballot for passage by the voters, and will need a two-thirds majority for codification.
Moscow Mills’ Board of Aldermen passed Proposition “M,” an ordinance that will place a 3% sales tax on non-medicinal marijuana sold in the city, at its monthly meeting on Jan. 17. The ordinance will go on the April 4 municipal ballot for passage by the voters, and will need a two-thirds majority for codification.
Moscow Mills, Mo. -When Missouri voters approved the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in the November elections last year, cities and towns statewide had to decide how to best adapt to the new constitutional amendment once it took effect earlier this month.
The cities of Lincoln County were no different. Even though a majority of Lincoln County’s voters cast ballots against the amendment, it passed, so the county has to prepare for the influx of dispensaries – and the current locations that deal in and study the effects of medical marijuana applying for recreational licenses.
When Moscow Mills’ Board of Aldermen took on the issue at its Jan. 17 monthly meeting, it had to decide whether or not to charge a sales tax on non-medicinal marijuana, in addition to the state tax charged, in the form of an ordinance to be decided by the city’s voters during the April 4 municipal elections.
A two-thirds majority would be needed for the ordinance to go into effect.
Under the new constitutional amendment, Proposition “M,” recreational marijuana will be taxed at 6% by the state, while the medicinal version will remain at a 4% sales tax rate.
According to City Attorney Cynthia Davenport, the other areas have not added taxes to medicinal marijuana, to her knowledge.
After discussion on the matter, Ward II Alderman Cody Quist made a motion to adopt the ordinance, with Ward I Alderman Steven Aston seconding.
A copy of the ordinance passed the Moscow Mills Board of Alderman that will be voted on by residents on April 4, that if passed, will add a 3% sales tax on non-medicinal marijuana.
Mayor Patrick Flannigan said Moscow Mills cannot be left behind on potential revenues, and he expects new dispensaries to come to the area.
“I expect every city to have one sooner or later,” he said. “We already have a marijuana-testing facility here – and I expect them to apply for a license very soon.”
Ward II Alderman Jerry Green moved to Lincoln County from Illinois, which has the second-highest taxes on marijuana in the country, behind Washington State. He said the sales taxes in Missouri – and what the board has passed – are nothing compared to what he left behind.
“It’s going to keep money here in Missouri, instead of driving to Illinois,” Green said. “(Customers from Illinois) might even drive here, because it’s cheaper.
“People come here to buy gas and cigarettes because it’s cheaper. It only makes sense.”
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