Pot revenue-sharing deal with Ottawa means money for municipalities, Wynne says
TORONTO — Municipalities can begin discussions with Ontario over costs associated with legalized marijuana in light of a new tax revenue-sharing agreement between the provinces and federal government, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Tuesday.
Wynne’s comments come after Ottawa agreed Monday to give provinces and territories a 75 per cent share of federal excise tax revenues from the sale of legalized pot. The remaining 25 per cent — to a maximum of $100 million a year — will stay with the federal government. Federal revenues above $100 million will also go to the provinces and territories.
“We need to work with municipalities to understand what their costs are going to be, what our costs are going to be, and now we will do that work within this context of this sharing framework,” Wynne said.
Municipalities have said they will shoulder most of the costs of marijuana legalization and want funding to offset the expense.