Sonoma Cuts Cannabis Cultivation Tax by 45%

Responding to the cries of a struggling industry, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted Las Tuesday to slash the cannabis cultivation tax by 45% through June 30, 2023. The tax cut is retroactive to July 1, 2021.

“We were putting people out of business with our policy, so this is the right thing to do,” said District 4 Supervisor James Gore (CBS).

Cannabis Business Association of Sonoma County Board Member Erich Pearson called it “a step in the right direction” (North Coast Business Journal).

The cuts will reduce county tax revenue by an estimated $1.6 million. But the alternative was worse, many farmers say. A number of them have said they’ll have to leave the county or go underground to deal with steep state and local taxation. Without the cuts, Supervisor Gore said Sonoma would be “killing” its permitted businesses.