Colorado Congressmen Spar Over Marijuana Tax Deduction Proposal
WASHINGTON, DC (CBS4)- The House Rules Committee met early Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill where two representatives from Colorado sparred over a proposed deduction.
Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat, proposed a deduction for the marijuana industry to the tax overhaul bill. He claimed that the industry is taxed at 70 percent.
"That's a very urgent one regarding the deduct-ability of legal business expenses for marijuana businesses. Again, nothing to do with the legalization of marijuana, nothing to do with legal status of marijuana," said Polis.
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Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican, pushed back, "We have a black market and a gray market in Colorado and other states that exists because the cost of producing marijuana illegally is far below the cost of producing marijuana legally in a regulated market. It makes no sense."
At one point, Buck even called it a poison pill for the bill, prompting one Democrat to say that was a reason to vote for it. In the end, it didn't get approval.
