City of Visalia to propose cannabis tax on November ballot: what that means

VISALIA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Right now, cannabis can’t be sold at stores within the city limits of Visalia, but that may not always be the case. If that day comes, the city has a plan for retailers.

“What we are now doing is put on the ballot in November the opportunity to tax whether it be warehousing, cultivation, and or retail,” said Visalia City Councilman, Steve Nelson.

Nelson says the city is laying down the groundwork should cannabis sales ever be legalized in Visalia City limits. He says it could take a city council vote to make it legal to sell marijuana in stores within city limits.

“If it came today to a vote, I think the wherewithal of the council, I’m not going to say it’s going to be a 5-0 vote, but I think there would be enough votes to allow it,” he said.

In anticipation, the city has drawn up a plan that would tax cannabis businesses no more than 10% of gross receipts, or up to 10 dollars per square foot of cultivation.

If approved, the city could choose to allocate the money to different needs such as youth programs, public safety, or to address homelessness.

“Then you’re taking, let’s say, in someone’s eyes and this is kind of negative, but you’re kind of taking it, saying no, it’s kind of a positive because now we’re able to benefit these different areas,” Nelson said.

Research suggests that the revenue made from the cannabis tax could be large in scale.

“The consultant we’ve utilized said the revenue stream for us could be around $500,000.”

The tax measure will be presented on the ballot on Nov. 5.

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