Here’s one of the biggest jaw-dropping moments ever in California’s attempt to close it’s $26.3 Billion Budget Deficit.

 

 A Bill introduced by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano calls for the complete legalization of Marijuana, with the state applying a $50-per ounce fee. The State Board of Equalization estimates this would raise $1.4 billion for the state, $990 million from the fee and $392 million from sales taxes.

 

 

Under the current bill,taxes could not be gathered until the Federal Government legalized Marijuana. Ammiano plans to amend the bill to remove that provision. Allowing California to collect taxes on Marijuana even without the Federal government legalising Marijuana.

 

 The call to tax Marijuana makes sense when you understand that California is the top producer of Marijuana. Last year, the state confiscated 5.3 Million plants. Government Official, in general, have a difficult time passing on any potential source of revenue. It becomes even more difficult when the Government is running a large deficit. The amount of revenue that can be raised tends to overshadow any potential drawbacks. Like what happens when Marijuana suddenly becomes a legal product.

 

Another factor that gets ignored is whether or not people will actually pay the tax in question. A $50-per ounce tax is an incredibly large tax. With taxes that large, people tend to seek methods of avoiding them. The Federal Tax on Cigarettes was recently raised to just over $1 per pack, much less than the $50 being bandied about when it comes to Marijuana, and people were finding ways to avoid the Cigarette Tax before it was raised.

 

 

If people were avoiding the Cigarette tax when it was under a $1-per pack, do Californian officials really think people will voluntarily pay one that is $50-per ounce?

 

 Any Official that thinks people will pay a $50-per ounce tax, on top of the sales tax, instead of buying Marijuana under the table has apparently been smoking the substance in question.