KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several city leaders in Missouri will discuss adding a 3% sales tax on recreational marijuana at meetings tonight.
Independence, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, North Kansas City and Smithville all have the item on their city council or board of aldermen agendas tonight.
Cities must act on this topic before January 24. Voters must approve the sales tax. The deadline to get a question on April 4’s ballot is January 24 at 4 p.m. April 4 is a municipal election across Missouri.
Kansas City, Liberty, Grandview, Belton, Raymore, Riverside, Raytown, Kearney, and Peculiar already took the necessary steps to place the question on April 4’s ballot.
Voters approved recreational marijuana in November. The state will collect an additional 6% in sales tax once sales begin later this year. The amendment approved in November gave cities the option to ask voters for approval to collect up to 3% in additional sales tax.
Both state and local taxes on recreational marijuana would be in addition to existing sales taxes currently in place. Missouri collects 4.225% in sales tax. Jackson County collects about 1.375 percent and Kansas City collects 3.25%. In this example, the total sales tax on recreational marijuana would total 17.85% if voters approve Kansas City’s request to add the 3% tax.
Most cities do not anticipate collecting millions of dollars from the tax. North Kansas City, which currently has one dispensary, anticipates it might collect between $50,000 and $80,000 through the proposed tax. Independence, which has four current dispensaries, predicts tax revenue to vary between $275,000 to $615,000 on an annual basis.
Some cities plan to place tax revenue in the general fund, others have more specific plans. Liberty discussed putting the money toward public safety. Independence would like to use revenues to renovate the police station. Kansas City earmarked the money for neighborhood cleanup, homeless services, and violence prevention efforts.
The state will use revenue from its 6% sales tax to fund regulation and enforcement of recreational marijuana as well as a program to expunge records of people with marijuana-related offenses.
Missouri collects 4% in additional sales tax on medical marijuana.