NY State Senate Bill S4831

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
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- Passed Assembly
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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 15, 2023	referred to budget and revenue

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4619
Current Committee:: Senate Budget And Revenue
Law Section:: Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Rpld §492 sub (k), amd §§493, 494 & 496, Tax L

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the tax from nine to sixteen percent of the amount charged for the sale or transfer of adult-use cannabis products to a retail customer; removes requirements that records reflect the total amount of THC content of the adult-use cannabis products sold to or produced by persons who sell such products; makes related provisions.

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S4831

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the tax law, in relation to the imposition of taxes,
registration and records of the sale of cannabis; and to repeal certain
provisions of such law relating thereto

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 repeals subdivision k of section 492 of the tax law.

Section 2 amends section 493 of the tax law to:

* Repeal the potency tax on adult-use cannabis products; and

* Increases the excise tax on adult-use cannabis products from nine to
sixteen percent.

Section 3 amends section 494 of the tax law to make corresponding chang-
es.

Section 4 amends section 496 of the tax law to make corresponding chang-
es.

Section 5 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

No other state in the country has implemented the potency (THC) tax on
adult-use cannabis that New York State has. This tax is excessively
complex, costly to cannabis enterprises, and will lead to shopping for
the best lab results. Furthermore, such a tax results in burdens that
fall disproportionately on small business and social equity applicants.

There is a large amount of data now available from other cannabis-legal
states that strongly suggests that lower overall rates and simpler tax
structures facilitate higher tax revenues and create an environment in
which smaller businesses can thrive.

New York State already has a massive and well-established illicit market
that has continued to flourish even after adult-use cannabis was legal-
ized, and the THC tax and total tax burden will make this problem far
worse.

This bill, by replacing the current potency tax with an increase in the
current excise tax, will better shift the costs away from businesses and
consumers while facilitating a cannabis market in New York State that is
flourishing and will provide real economic benefits for all.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act ,shall take effect immediately.

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4831
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 15, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to  the  imposition  of  taxes,
   registration  and  records  of  the  sale  of  cannabis; and to repeal
   certain provisions of such law relating thereto

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Subdivision (k) of section 492 of the tax law is REPEALED.
   § 2. Section 493 of the tax law, as added by chapter 92 of the laws of
 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   §  493.  Imposition  of  tax.  (a)  [There  is hereby imposed a tax on
 adult-use cannabis products sold by a distributor to a person who  sells
 adult-use cannabis products at retail at the following rates:
   (1)  cannabis flower at the rate of five-tenths of one cent per milli-
 gram of the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label;
   (2) concentrated cannabis at the rate of eight-tenths of one cent  per
 milligram of the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label;
 and
   (3)  cannabis  edible product at the rate of three cents per milligram
 of the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label. This  tax
 shall  accrue  at  the time of such sale or transfer. Where a person who
 distributes adult-use cannabis is licensed under the cannabis law  as  a
 microbusiness  or  registered  organization, such person shall be liable
 for the tax, and such tax shall accrue at the time of the retail sale.
   (b)] In addition to any other tax imposed by  this  chapter  or  other
 law,  there  is  hereby  imposed  a tax of [nine] SIXTEEN percent of the
 amount charged for the sale or transfer of adult-use  cannabis  products
 to  a  retail customer by a person who sells adult-use cannabis products
 at retail. This tax is imposed on the person who sells adult-use  canna-
 bis at retail and shall accrue at the time of such sale or transfer.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08127-02-3
 S. 4831                             2

 
   [(c)]  (B) In addition to the taxes imposed by [subdivisions] SUBDIVI-
 SION (a) [and (b)] of this section, there is hereby imposed a tax on the
 sale or transfer of adult-use cannabis products to a retail customer  by
 a  person who sells adult-use cannabis products at retail at the rate of
 four  percent  of  the  amount charged by such person for such adult-use
 cannabis product, which tax shall accrue at the time  of  such  sale  or
 transfer. The tax imposed by this subdivision is imposed on a person who
 sells  adult-use  cannabis  products at retail, and shall be paid to the
 commissioner in trust for and on account of a city having  a  population
 of  a  million  or more, and counties (other than counties wholly within
 such a city), towns, villages, and cities with a population of less than
 a million in which a retail dispensary is located.
   [(d)] (C) The taxes imposed by this section shall not apply  to  sales
 of  adult-use  cannabis  to a person holding a cannabis research license
 under section thirty-nine of the cannabis law.
   § 3. Paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) of section 494 of the  tax  law,
 as  added  by  chapter  92  of  the  laws of 2021, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (i) Every [distributor on whom tax is imposed under this  article  and
 every]  person who sells adult-use cannabis products at retail must file
 with the commissioner a properly completed application for a certificate
 of registration before  engaging  in  business.  An  application  for  a
 certificate  of registration must be submitted electronically, on a form
 prescribed by the commissioner, and must be accompanied by a non-refund-
 able application fee of six hundred dollars. A certificate of  registra-
 tion  shall  not  be  assignable  or transferable and shall be destroyed
 immediately upon such person ceasing to do business as specified in such
 certificate, or in the event that such business never commenced.
   § 4. Section 496 of the tax law, as added by chapter 92 of the laws of
 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   § 496. Records to be kept; penalties. (a) Records to  be  kept.  Every
 [distributor on whom tax is imposed under this article and every] person
 who  sells adult-use cannabis products at retail shall maintain complete
 and accurate records in  such  form  as  the  commissioner  may  require
 including,  but  not limited to, [such items as the total THC content of
 the adult-use cannabis products sold to or  produced  by  such  person;]
 complete  records  of  every  retail sale of adult-use cannabis, and any
 other record or information required by the commissioner.  Such  records
 must  be  preserved  for a period of three years after the filing of the
 return to which such records relate and must be provided to the  commis-
 sioner upon request.
   (b) Penalties. In addition to any other penalty provided in this arti-
 cle  or  otherwise  imposed  by  law,  [every distributor on whom tax is
 imposed under this article and] every person who sells adult-use  canna-
 bis  products  at  retail who fails to maintain or make available to the
 commissioner the records required by this section is subject to a penal-
 ty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each month or part thereof for
 which the failure occurs. This penalty may not be imposed more than once
 for failures for the same monthly  period  or  part  thereof.    If  the
 commissioner  determines  that  a  failure to maintain or make available
 records in any month was entirely due to reasonable  cause  and  not  to
 willful neglect, the commissioner must remit the penalty for that month.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S4831

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue Committee

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S4831 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S4831

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Sponsored By

Jeremy A. Cooney

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue Committee

Your Voice

Actions

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4831 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments