NEW BRUNSWICK – A month after endorsing applications for recreational marijuana businesses, the city is now looking to set tax rates for those businesses.
City Council members last week introduced an ordinance setting tax rates at 1 percent for wholesalers and 2 percent for other cannabis classes.
The ordinance is scheduled to come for a public hearing and final vote at the City Council’s 5:30 p.m. meeting on April 6 at City Hall, 78 Bayard St., New Brunswick.
Under the ordinance, cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and retailers will be taxed at 2 percent of the receipts from each sale and cannabis wholesalers will be taxed at one percent of the receipts from each sale, according to a public notice.
The ordinance also sets a 2 percent user tax on the value of each transfer or use of cannabis or cannabis items not otherwise subject to the transfer tax imposed on the license holder’s establishment that is located in the city to any of the other license holder’s establishments, whether in New Brunswick or another municipality, the public notice states.
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The ordinance also states the transfer tax or user tax will be collected or paid and remitted to the municipality by the cannabis establishment from the cannabis establishment purchasing or receiving the cannabis item, or from the customer at the point of sale, on behalf of the municipality by the cannabis establishment selling or transferring the cannabis item.
The transfer tax or user tax will be stated, charged, and shown separately on any sales slip, invoice, receipt, or other statement or memorandum of the price paid or payable for the cannabis or cannabis item, the public notice states.
Revenues collected from a transfer or user tax will be remitted to the city’s chief financial officer. If transfer or user taxes are not paid when due, the unpaid balance and any interest will be a lien on the cannabis establishment property in the same manner as all other unpaid municipal taxes, fees or other charges, the public notice states.
Last year New Brunswick council members approved an ordinance allowing licensed recreational cannabis establishments of all six classes approved by the state to operate in the city. The six classes of licenses allowed for recreational marijuana in New Jersey are grower, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer and delivery.
New Brunswick is one of only a few communities in Central Jersey that agreed to permit all types of recreational marijuana businesses. The businesses have to obtain a license from the state.
The city however prohibits on-premises consumption of cannabis in any form, including outdoor areas. Use of cannabis is prohibited in any public place in the city.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.comÂ
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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