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Dillingham City Council tables marijuana tax

The City of Dillingham will not place an additional tax on marijuana – for now. 

The Dillingham City Council Finance Committee considered the matter after several citizens brought the issue to the committee.

“There wasn’t a clear direction from the committee on whether we would recommend excise tax, or sales tax or no increase in tax," committee Chairman Paul Liedberg told the council at the October meeting. "So, I guess our decision in the end was to just table it for now and see where the business goes in the next year.”

The committee did not recommend a tax exemption for medical marijuana. Marijuana is already subject to the city’s six percent sales tax.

The committee tabled the decision largely due to uncertainty about the cannabis industry’s future in the community. Currently, two businesses have permits pending. The city will take up the issue again once businesses are open, which is expected to happen within a year.

Contact the author at isabelle@kdlg.org or 907-842-5281.

Izzy Ross is the news director at KDLG, the NPR member station in Dillingham. She reports, edits, and hosts stories from around the Bristol Bay region, and collaborates with other radio stations across the state.