San Francisco is named after one of the most influential Christian leaders in history, so of course this makes sense:
Yes, this is a real headline!
An ordinance suspending San Francisco's Cannabis Business Tax was unanimously approved by city supervisors Tuesday.
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the ordinance's author, said in a statement suspending the business tax on cannabis will help support legal cannabis retailers as they struggle to compete with illegal cannabis sellers.
Bruh. I know St. Francis liked studying nature, but methinks your namesake wouldn't approve of giving breaks to illicit-substance stores while your city burns.
Churches can be shuttered, vax mandates can be imposed on kids, an insane number of car break-ins is okay, flash-mob looting sessions are fine, but taxing weed is A STEP TOO FAR.
Illegal sellers of cannabis skirt paying those taxes and are able to offer products at a lower cost, which entices consumers to purchase their product instead of legal sellers.
Unknowingly, a media outlet just made the case for why taxes are horrible and why free-market capitalism is awesome.
KPIX News reports the tax itself was approved by voters in 2018 and imposed a 1%-5% tax on gross receipts from cannabis sales. The new ordinance suspends the business tax through December 31, 2022.
