Taxes on legalized pot must stay low to beat weed’s black market: study
OTTAWA — A new analysis says governments can wrestle recreational-pot proceeds away from criminals — just so long as they’re not counting on an early windfall from legalized weed.
The study, to be released Tuesday by the C.D. Howe Institute think tank, estimates legalized cannabis would generate about $675 million in 2018 in combined federal and provincial revenue through existing sales taxes.
However, if authorities want to raise even more cash in the early days of legalization through additional taxes, they risk undermining their stated priority of squeezing out organized crime, the report says.
The study comes as the Trudeau government prepares to introduce legislation Thursday to begin the process of legalizing pot.