Recently, numerous clients have come to us about issues with cannabis payment plans and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (“CDTFA“). Recall, there was a time in California (not that long ago) where certain cannabis companies threatened to just not pay their taxes because they believed the tax rate was too high. In
L.A. County commercial cannabis is finally coming in 2023. We covered the breaking news about L.A. County commercial cannabis regulations here. This is a huge deal, because L.A. County is the biggest county in the U.S. with over 9 million residents. L.A. County plans to allow the following businesses in in its borders in 2023:
California cannabis tax relief is a big deal. And a real thing. What’s important now is how the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (“CDTFA”) interprets Assembly Bill 195. As I previously blogged, California is finally on board with a modicum of cannabis tax relief for cannabis licensees (mainly for the benefit of cultivators).
When it comes to cannabis ballot measures, a common promise is made to voters that the increased tax revenue from cannabis sales will go back into the community. Cannabis taxes are therefore unavoidable. So is the debate over how high those taxes should be. In turn, all states have their fair share of cannabis tax
One of the most important decisions a new cannabis business can make is the form of entity it will use. In fact, one of the first questions businesses ask is whether the right entity for a cannabis business is a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or something else. Like basically every other legal analysis, the
We work with many large cannabis businesses and many small ones too. It’s fun to talk up the bigger fish, but I have a soft spot for the little guys. I really enjoy small business at the end of the day. I like seeing financial statements of disciplined, privately held companies doing maybe $5m to
Many cannabis handshake deals result in the parties forming an inadvertent cannabis partnership. The words “partnership” and “joint venture” are often thrown around casually. Many early stage cannabis entrepreneurs know they want to do some type of business venture, often with a business partner, but they often do not know why or how to avoid
New York snuck a pretty significant tax break for cannabis businesses into its 2022 budget. The Revenue Bill included a state tax deduction for cannabis related business expenses that are currently disallowed by § 280E of the federal tax code. We have seen this strategy in other “canna friendly” states and it’s a welcome development.
We work with international cannabis companies that operate in the U.S., and we regularly field inquiries from others who want to enter the U.S. market. Some are already selling into the U.S. market through an intermediary like a broker or a sales agent. In the United States, there are four main ways to enter the
Previously we wrote about equity compensation for cannabis employees from the perspective of companies. We have been dealing with more and more companies adding equity to their overall compensation scheme, so now is a good time to revisit it from the employee perspective. For an overview of the types of equity compensation available, see here.
