<p>Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and DFL legislators were at a standstill when Gov. Walz presented his idea of a 15% retail marijuana sales tax. Walz wants to tax retail cannabis sales at an additional 15% on top of the current Minnesota sales tax rate of 6.5%. Doing this would put the effective tax rate on retail cannabis sales at 21.5%.&nbsp;<br /><br />This proposal was met with opposition from DFL legislators who initially introduced the recreational marijuana bill, who had originally proposed a 8% sales tax on retail marijuana sales. Even though Walz and the other legislators don't see eye to eye on the tax rate, all hope is not lost for this bill. It's likely that they'll work out the difference and figure out a solution as both sides want to see cannabis legalized for recreational use.<br /><br /><img title="https://res.cloudinary.com/timj111/image/upload/v1675810968/articles/bacwjcfh1otxh5af2hqj.jpg" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/timj111/image/upload/v1675810968/articles/bacwjcfh1otxh5af2hqj.jpg" alt="Weed nugs and jars" width="250" height="250" /></p>
<h2 id="0">Why It's Important To Have a Low Tax Rate</h2>
<p>Cannabis users are always looking for the best deal when looking to buy weed. When faced with an outrageous tax rate at dispensaries, it becomes more cost effective to buy products through the traditional market. With the Governor's proposed tax rate, a $100 purchase at the dispensary would result in $21.5 of sales tax. That doesn't seem too bad compared to other states with recreational sales tax rates of 30-40%, but for people who are used to no tax, it's a big jump.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Rep. Zack Stephenson has voiced his concerns with the Governor's proposal. Zack believes it's important to ensure a low enough tax rate so that people actually start buying recreational cannabis instead of purchasing from the traditional market, where there is no tax at all. In an interview with Fox 9, Governor Walz addressed Zack's concerns, saying that he understands the potential need for a lower tax rate, but that there is no evidence that shows&nbsp;a higher tax rate would help the illicit market thrive. Realistically, having a higher tax rate does help the illicit market thrive, as it makes more sense for customers to purchase weed off the street than at a dispensary.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui4kEHhSLKo" alt="" /><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ui4kEHhSLKo" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />Governor Walz went on to say &ldquo;I certainly am not trying to encourage people to use [cannabis]. I&rsquo;m just simply making the case of prohibition didn&rsquo;t work, get it off the streets,&rdquo; Walz said. &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to do this, let&rsquo;s use that revenue to go back into programs. And I think for many people, especially those opposed to the idea of using general funds to make this work, is not very palatable to them.&rdquo;</p>
<h3 id="1">Is Recreational Marijuana Coming To Minnesota Soon?</h3>
<p>There is still quite a ways way to go before recreational cannabis sales are legalized in Minnesota. A majority of Minnesota residents and lawmakers are in support of recreational marijuana, so there are high hopes for this <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=house&amp;f=HF100&amp;ssn=0&amp;y=2023">bill</a>. If passed, HF 100 would not only allow recreational dispensaries , but would include a whole lot of other changes.&nbsp;<br /><br />There is a lot of support for the legalization of the recreational usage of marijuana, and it seems like 2023 is going to be the year that Minnesota may finally go legal.</p>