Montana medical marijuana providers paid about $300,000 in taxes for the first quarter, which ended in September.
The tax was the first of its kind on the Montana medical marijuana industry, which is seeing a resurgence in enrollment after the passage of more comprehensive regulatory laws this spring.
About 315 providers made tax payments at 4 percent on their gross sales receipts.
“It works out to be about $7.5 million in gross revenues,” said Mary Ann Dunwell, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Revenue.
Dunwell said that most providers paid an average of $800 in taxes for that first quarter. But a few of the larger providers had large tax bills.
One provider brought $30,000 in cash to the revenue department in Helena, Dunwell said.
The department received a mix of cash and electronic payments. There was speculation on how much cash the revenue department would have to process, because banks have been slow to work with marijuana-related businesses. That trend is reversing, however, as those industries stabilize.
The 4-percent tax on providers’ gross revenue is intended to support the implementation of the new medical marijuana program. The rate will become 2 percent in July 2018.
All tax proceeds go into a special fund to administer the medical marijuana program, which is run by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
credit:420intel.com
