Northern Nevadans have been reaching out to the Channel 2 newsroom with questions about where all the tax money from recreational marijuana is going, and if it's being spent yet. We checked in with the head of the Nevada Department of Taxation to find out.
There are three different taxes that supply revenue to the state: wholesale excise, retail excise, and sales.
The wholesale tax is first; it kicks in before the product even hits the shelves. That money first goes to cover the cost of marijuana regulation. The remainder (which is the bulk of this tax) goes into the state's distributive school account (DSA) for K-12 education.
Next is the retail tax. This is an additional 10 percent charged on recreational purchases. That money goes directly to the state's "rainy day fund," and is transferred over on a monthly basis, so it's already in use. Department of Taxation Executive Director Bill Anderson estimates they've transferred more than $30 million there so far.
Finally, there's the regular sales tax that goes to each county. In Washoe County, it's 8.265 percent.
The question that most people have is about the money headed to education, or the DSA. Unlike the other sources that have already made their way into the state's wallet, that money is totaled up at the end of the year, so for now there's just an estimate of how much will go to education.
"We haven't finalized that number yet," Anderson said, "but we think it will be in the mid to high $20 million range."
That's about a third of the total tax income the state has made in the first 11 months of recreational marijuana sales. It topped $60 million as of June 2018, which is already $10 million over their projections for the full year.
"We still have one more month to go," Anderson said, "and we are already about 25 percent higher than what was anticipated."
So, in next year's budget, education in Nevada will be a getting a multi-million-dollar boost. It's important to note, though, that while every little bit counts, this is a relatively small number in the grand scheme of the state's education spending, which is in the billions.
