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House committee debates 50% excise tax on Delta-8 products; motion to pass fails
Summary
A proposed 50% excise tax on certain hemp-derived THC products generated extended testimony and questions about enforcement, definitions and impacts on small retailers. The committee voted and the motion to pass failed.
A House Revenue & Taxation committee on Thursday considered Senate Bill 605, which would impose a 50% excise tax on certain “delta tetrahydrocannabinol” products and other hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids and would add a new reporting line for retailers to remit the tax.
Supporters described the measure as an additional enforcement tool against products the General Assembly has previously sought to ban. Opponents — including small retailers who sell hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products — said the bill’s language is broad enough to sweep in naturally derived, federally legal hemp products and would jeopardize small businesses.
Representative Baker (District 71), the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the tax is intended to align the industry with tobacco and to give the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) a second compliance mechanism while litigation over earlier bans continues. “If participants choose to continue to sell those, there is some gray area as litigation continues. What is not a gray area would be tax…
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