Teeing Up Canadian Cannabis Taxes

Canada’s Finance Minister Bill Morneau is ready to talk Canadian cannabis taxes with the country’s provinces. On May 15, 2017, during a House of Commons meeting for the Standing Committee on Finance, Morneau addressed the Budget Measure Implementation Act and closed his opening remarks with a note on cannabis taxes.

“I know members will have questions about our plans to tax the future legal sale of cannabis,” Morneau said. “Work has begun on the design of this taxation regime and the issue will be on the agenda at the next meeting of provincial and territorial finance ministers in June. The goal will be to agree on some basic principles, with the intent to move quickly on these historic legislative proposals.”

According to the Canadian Press, Morneau explained that the administration’s priorities are to thwart the black market and keep cannabis out of the hands of children, not stuff the coffers with Canadian cannabis taxes

The parliamentary budget officer, the Canadian Parliament’s independent financial and economic analyst, estimated this past fall that recreational sales in all provinces combined could generate anywhere between $356 million to $959 million in tax revenue in 2018, as reported by the Canadian Press.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould introduced legislation to legalize recreational cannabis on April 13, 2017, with the intention of implementing regulations by July 2018.