Posted on 05/09/2014 11:55:59 AM PDT by Olog-hai
A federal lawsuit is challenging Washington state’s authority to tax marijuana as long as marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The case arises from the state’s attempt to collect sales taxes from a medical marijuana dispensary. But lawyer Douglas Hiatt, who filed it late Thursday, said it could throw a wrench in Washington’s plans for collecting taxes on recreational marijuana, too.
The author of Washington’s recreational pot law, Alison Holcomb, disagreed. She doesn’t expect the lawsuit to get very far. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Pot tax is just the cartel’s cut. States are now getting into the illegal drug business.
The more experienced “unlicensed pharmaceutical suppliers” are already penetrating Colorado’s drug scene, and are looking to do the same in Washington.
There already is a pot tax. Its called a sin tax and it’s
levied by the feds.
If the states were allowed to collect taxes off pot sales, it will give more of them the incentive to legalize it and then where would the Washington cartel employ their war on drugs warriors?
The Washington cartel will be fine with legalization as soon as they have their own infrastructure in place to collect the revenue from it. They don't want a bunch of pissant states elbowing in on their revenue stream.
The Democrats get all these benefits here:
As is the case in California, the Washington dispensaries are caught in a perpetual Catch-22. The owners will always be in violation of Federal law, in spite of being in compliance with State law.
“Hiatt is representing the dispensary’s operator, Martin Nickerson, who is simultaneously being prosecuted criminally for marijuana distribution and targeted by the state Department of Revenue for not collecting and remitting taxes on the pot he was allegedly distributing. Nickerson can’t pay the tax without incriminating himself in the criminal case, in violation of his constitutional rights, Hiatt argued.”
The Federal law is also a Catch-22 situation. If the federal laws are changed, that puts the US out of kilter with the UN mandates on the ‘war on drugs.’ If the laws remain the same, they are out of kilter with the citizens of the states. So the dispensaries are up against the UN itself. Quite a hill to climb.
Two words: Al Capone. Capone ran a criminal enterprise but still owed the tax on it. And that's why he went to prison. The Untouchables never got their man. The IRS did.
Your claims 1 & 2 are nothing more than propaganda and lies. I will fight just as hard against those that would claim moral authority to legislate morality as I will someone who would attempt to legislate immorality.
This came up before, years ago. I believe Arizona passed a law that required marijuana to have tax stamps on it, like cigarettes. The idea was that when arrested for marijuana, if it did not have such tax stamps, they were also guilty of state tax evasion.
A judge threw that out, however, saying in effect that the state could not tax illegal goods.
Oddly enough, many people bought the marijuana tax stamps as a novelty item, and they are now collectibles.
I’m sure the Pot guy looking at prison for selling grass is gonna declare his net profit for taxation from all those valid receipts from all his customers.
I really think when the MJ cartel in CO starts growing it’s own 6 plants per person the sales will eventually be nil except from those coming in from out of state to get high.
Tell that to anyone who has ever known a stoner. I’m not talking about the person who takes an occasional drag for medical reasons or even for recreational use. I’m talking about the dopey, lazy stoner who cares about nothing else.
Tell that to the alcoholic.
The purpose was in effect for double prosecution. That anyone arrested with enough to be charged as a dealer could also be charged for tax evasion. It was not a “in good faith” law.
Remind me again.
Where can I find evidence that the Republican party is in favor of a smaller, less intrusive government?
The IRS is an bureau of the Treasury Dept as were the Untouchables, a.k.a. BATF.
The Treasury Dept. got their man by out-flanking the enemy.
The IRS man was part and parcel of the untouchables..... he was one
The laws do not differentiate between the two, even if you do.
Like the anti-gunner, the anti-drug laws would have everyone believe that mere presence of a gun will always cause death and mayhem, even if it is just laying there unloaded.
Does everyone who uses pot become a dopey, lazy stoner? Or, are there some who are able to use it responsibly? Should be ban alcohol because some become winos? Should be ban guns because some use them to commit crime?
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