PM has promised legal marijuana will not be a cash cow, all revenues will be spent on public health. Call it Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s secret stash.
A new report from CIBC World Markets says Canada’s federal and provincial governments could reap as much as $5 billion annually in tax revenues from the sale of legal marijuana.
CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld crunched the numbers using current estimates of Canadian recreational pot consumption, the revenue experience in U.S. states that have legalized, and other factors — such as prevailing “sin tax” rates on alcohol and tobacco.
“The bottom line is that federal (and) provincial governments might reap as much as $5 billion from legalization, but only if all the underground sales are effectively curtailed,” writes Shenfeld.
“That’s on the order of 0.25 per cent of GDP, no barnburner.”
Bruce Cheadle – CBC News – Jan 28, 2016.
Want More Investigative Content?
