Humboldt County extends deadline to pay marijuana grower taxes

Humboldt County supervisors have prolonged the deadline for tons of of marijuana farmers to repay cultivation taxes enacted years in the past.

County growers confronted a March 31 deadline to remove all tax money owed associated to Measure S, a poll referendum accepted by voters in 2016, greater than a 12 months earlier than the launch of adult-use gross sales.

Supervisors pushed the looming deadline to April 4 for 210 license holders to make their first funds or face suspension, in accordance with the Customary Occasions of Eureka.

For the tons of extra who’ve made some cost, their deadline was prolonged to Dec. 31, 2025.

No extra reduction

The county supervisors indicated at their March 25 assembly this would be the ultimate extension, the newspaper reported.

Regardless of the extensions, tons of of Humboldt County farmers are nonetheless in jeopardy of dropping their enterprise licenses.

Greater than 75% of the county’s 1,000 or so cultivation allow holders carry some tax debt, MJBizDaily reported just lately, citing data obtained by a Public Data Act request from the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HGCA).

The common excellent tax debt is roughly $12,000, in accordance with county knowledge and officers, though some owe greater than $150,000.

In all, cultivation allow holders owe the county greater than $17 million in taxes, primarily from 2017 to 2021.

Of the 765 listed account holders with cultivation licenses in Humboldt County, public information present 415 agreed to a cost plan, or roughly 54%.

“Cultivators should now take quick steps to deal with their tax obligations or threat dropping their permits,” HCGA Government Director Natalynne DeLapp warned in a memo despatched to members.

Addressing the tax debt

Within the letter, obtained by MJBizDaily, DeLapp inspired HCGA members to substantiate their tax information with the county treasurer and planning division due to “recognized discrepancies” between the businesses in addition to unsubstantiated stories of clerical errors and lacking information.

In response to mounting challenges that hindered small farm competitiveness, Humboldt County supervisors in November 2022 suspended the Measure S excise tax for 2 years and deferred associated funds and penalties two years prior.

For the previous 12 months, the excise tax was set at 10 cents per sq. foot for outside, 20 cents per sq. foot for mixed-light and 30 cents per sq. foot for indoor cultivation.

“Ready for the county to inform you isn’t an answer – and ignorance isn’t a protection,” DeLapp advised HCGA members within the memo.

“Be proactive. Know your standing. Deal with it now.”

The March 25 assembly, in accordance with DeLapp and others in attendance, was tense and emotional as greater than two dozen farmers and residents shared their private tales and financial challenges of working in a depressed market with declining energetic licenses and whole gross sales in addition to value contraction and lack of retail entry.