With the COVID crisis hammering county coffers — an estimated $50 million for additional costs and lost revenues combined — cannabis sales remain about the only revenue source where the numbers are going up. Third quarter tax revenues from the county’s cannabis operators — from January through March — totaled $2.6 million, about 60 percent higher than the same time last year. Put another way, the county has now raised more tax revenues from its controversial cannabis industry during the first three quarters of this year than it did in the four quarters of last year. County bean counters are projecting total annual revenues of $9.2 million this year, often delivered to the tax collectors in large satchels bursting with old $20 bills.
The debates that are bound to arise over proposed new land-use restrictions generated by the county’s 113 cannabis operators will certainly be colored by all that money. One of the criticisms of the new industry is that they’ve been allowed to self-report their revenues with no oversight by county tax collectors. Twenty-three don’t file any reports at all; 44 reported zero gross receipts; and 46 reported taxable income.