Sales tax revenue, full costs unclear if North Dakota voters legalize recreational marijuana

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota lawmakers on Friday struggled to pin down the full financial impact of legalizing recreational marijuana, a factor voters will see when they decide a ballot measure on the issue this November.

Key in the discussion between a top legislative panel, the state’s top tax official and the leader of the ballot initiative were what sales tax revenue to estimate and what the full costs of legalization would be, such as social impacts and items state agencies expect to request but the measure doesn’t require. Voters will see the financial estimates on their ballots.

Lawmakers looked to state Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus, who said the sales tax revenue “does become speculative,” but offered an estimate of $7.281 million every two years based on a 5% sales tax rate.

North Dakota budgets on a two-year basis. The measure doesn’t set a tax rate. That would be up to the Legislature.

Measure leader Steve Bakken presented his group’s estimates for tax revenue, based on data from six other states extrapolated for North Dakota. He cited annual estimates of $19.46 million as an average and $7.65 million as a low.

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