Social Equity LA, a non-profit advocacy group, organized with local cannabis business owners to oppose the measure in letters to Mayor Karen Bass.
Luis Rivera, executive director of the nonprofit, said Measure CB risks legalizing the illegal cannabis industry by linking city finances to tax revenues generated by businesses. He said the measure would also weaken state law Proposition 64, which requires licensing of cannabis businesses. And amid the city’s struggles to track down and shut down illegal cannabis businesses, Rivera said it will be difficult to force them to pay.
“There are no guarantees or mechanisms to ensure that illegal operators will pay taxes or meet their obligations,” Rivera said.
Even if they pay taxes, illegal operators can undermine legal businesses by selling unregulated products and avoiding requirements such as code inspections and safety testing for goods that legal businesses must meet to maintain their licenses, he said. For an already struggling industry, he said, the answer isn’t to tax more businesses — it’s to lower taxes.
