What does New Jersey’s marijuana vote mean to me?

Seven out of ten New Jersey voters this month affirmed that we must decriminalize marijuana. The state’s Attorney General quickly announced that all marijuana prosecutions are paused while we wait for cannabis industry legislation. Now the state government is scrambling to find ways to generate massive amounts of tax revenue from the drug. Much regulation will follow within a year or so. Meanwhile, what does this mean to us?

Note these ten key points that summarize how the change will affect us:

1. Government’s specific intent is to generate lots of tax revenue from this legal change. That means much new regulation, administration and enforcement is required. It will take time -perhaps a year or so – for this regulation and functional transition to occur.

2. New Jersey lawmakers have a vested interest in keeping the price of marijuana low to maximize tax revenue.

3. New Jersey policymakers have announced their intention to make opportunities available to small businesses, minorities and women. That is a significant change in direction for the industry and effectively means “affirmative action”.

4. New Jersey policymakers want the new industry to boost depressed neighborhoods (like ours in a Millville and Bridgeton) but local government may be less enthusiastic. Some local governments have already taken action to block marijuana businesses from struggling downtown areas.

5. The untaxed illegal black market will always be the major market force. An estimate of 70% is reasonable. Taxes will be the greatest economic driver of future growth of the illegal market.

6. States that border New Jersey do not have a viable plan to legalize marijuana in the near future, so interstate transactions including “marijuana tourism” will be significant.

7. Marijuana must be grown in New Jersey to be legal in New Jersey. Importation will still be a crime (not to mention issues of exportation that would be prosecuted under other states’ laws). The point is that cannabis will be a modern agricultural industry here.

8. There are plenty of economic risks. New Jersey is well positioned to learn from the lessons and problems that surfaced in California and Colorado.

9. Home grow interest will surge. That impact is being felt already. Major companies like Scott’s are already ahead of the curve in developing a division to cater to this market. Much opportunity still exists.

10. The NJCPA Cannabis Interest Group has been a major force in the education process in this state transition and continues to draft and influence future state regulation. The focus right now is to “decouple” state tax law surrounding cannabis from federal ta law. The second major emphasis is to advise small businesses entering the market.

Disclosures: I am a member of the NJCPA Cannabis Interest Group because this issue significantly impacts the future of small businesses. I am a contributor to the NJCPA Political Action Committee that attempts to influence education on cannabis issues. I do not use or endorse the use of cannabis but I do have personal and professional interests in the emerging cannabis industry.

Cannabis taxes will drive consumers back to unlicensed channels

Common sense, anecdotal conversations and third party reports tell us that the unlicensed pot industry is growing and will always be larger than the licensed industry. One report in September 2019 estimated that the unlicensed industry in California is three times larger than the licensed industry. In other states the unlicensed industry approaches 100% of the market.

My own rough calculations put the illegal pot industry at 0.1% to 1.5% of a state’s overall economy. In locally depressed areas like where I live, the economic impact could well be larger.

Regulation, taxation and licensing issues are all significant reasons. Taxes are the largest driver of the unlicensed market and will remain so over the long term. Tougher state laws and increased enforcement will have minimal effect on changing the overall market trend.

Motley Fool writes:

“The first concern is the taxation of recreational marijuana sales which, as noted, should represent a clear majority of global revenue in the decade to come. California, the fifth largest economy in the world by gross domestic product, has imposed a 15% excise tax, a cultivation tax on growers of $9.25 per ounce of cannabis flower, or $2.75 per ounce of cannabis leaves, and state and local taxes. Add this up, and some locales could be paying as much as 45% in aggregate tax on adult-use cannabis, which could wind up sending legal consumers back to illicit channels.

Remember, black market marijuana growers don’t have to wait for cultivation and processing licenses or sales permits. They also won’t be paying state income tax, federal income tax, or the cultivation and excise taxes imposed in the state. Illicit weed will easily undercut the Golden State’s legal pot industry on price, and first-year tax revenue collection figures show this to be true. Having originally expected $643 million in full-year 2018 sales following the sale of adult-use weed in dispensaries, actual collection totaled just $345.2 million last year. If U.S. states or foreign markets fail to tax cannabis appropriately, it could seriously reduce the industry’s potential.

California’s problems are of particular concern to Origin House (OTC:ORHOF), which has bet big on being a distribution kingpin in the state. Origin House has been gobbling up some of the smaller pot distributors in California, thereby nabbing the few distribution licenses outstanding. But if consumers aren’t actively staying within legal channels, then rampant oversupply and reduced demand could sap Origin House’s potential, at least over the next couple of years.”

The unlicensed industry is likely already worth billions of dollars. Every participant, even home growers, shares significant tax risk and legal risk. Those risks should to be considered for their impact on other financial planning objectives. Yet most with risk exposure don’t seek help beyond a criminal attorney when the need arises.

The most common questions I am asked on how to tackle this messy issue: Are discussions with an accountant protected in the event of a legal procedure? Can “above the table” activities be protected from risks of “under the table” activities? What’s my “worst case exposure? Can my spouse and family be financially protected?

All of these topics should be carefully addressed in our early and ongoing work.

Tax Court upholds “gross receipts method” to determine tax liability

A recent U.S. Tax Court Case captioned “Raymond Chico and Ruby Chico v. Commissioner”, Respondent upheld the use of a very simple tax accounting tool by the IRS in determining the tax liability of a cannabis-related business.

The IRS used the ‘gross receipts method’ to add up all receipts from all sources and determined that it all was taxable income. The Tax Court determined that the IRS could collect all applicable penalties including the accuracy-related penalties.

Tax Court upholds IRS over legal dispensary

A recent U.S. Tax Court case challenged the ability of the Internal Revenue Service to deny all tax deductions as invalid for a cannabis-related business. The business “Northern California Small Business Assistants Inc.” was a legal dispensary in California.

The Tax Court denied all of the arguments of the business as invalid and upheld the position of the IRS in full. In addition, the case is significant in that it determines that not only are ‘ordinary and necessary business expenses’ (known as Section 162 expenses) invalid, but all deductions and tax credits paid are also invalid.

The case was decided in late October 2019 and the IRS position remains the law today:

“You operated a medical marijuana dispensary. Thus, it is determined
that your business consists of trafficking in marijuana, a controlled
substance within the meaning of schedule I or II of the controlled
substance [sic] Act. Accordingly, you are subject to the limitations of
IRC 280E, which disallows all deductions or credits paid or incurred
during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or business that consists
or [sic] trafficking in controlled substance [sic].”

Looking past decriminalization

20191117_140520000_iOS This coming week our federal legislature will take up a bill to decriminalize cannabis. Most states, including ours, are attempting similar measures. But my form’s focus isn’t on these proceedings. In fact, we have little confidence in the near term outcome. That timeline really doesn’t matter in the big picture.

What we know is that eventually cannabis will be decriminalized. What then? That will be a beginning, not an end to huge numbers of civil prosecutions of growers, sellers and their supporters. Many entrepreneurs will make mistakes that will cost them small fortunes in payments to the government. My firm is specifically focused on representing the tens of thousands of local entrepreneurs who will face civil tax prosecutions and business license penalty cases to follow that will require an adviser to offer tax expertise, representation before authorities and large picture financial coaching for recovery.

Some call the situation “Prohibition 2.0”. Others see it quite differently. See my short video “Eight Inconvenient Truths About the Cannabis Industry (that nobody is talking about)” for discussion on the current situation.

The news coming from California gives us some insight in what will come here on the east coast. Cannabis is already decriminalized in California. Yet government prosecutions are on the rise. Now it’s all about collecting the money. Approximately 85% of the entire industry remains unlicensed and untaxed. The risk of raids on growers’ events like farmers markets, arrests for selling without a license, and tax prosecutions are a part of daily life for more than a million people in that state alone. The cost of those prosecutions will be devastating to many. Yet it isn’t the end of the world*.

My work focuses on dealing with these post-decriminalization issues that leaves millions exposed to new types of business and financial problems. I’ve always been useful in representing those accused of violating government rules.

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*I don’t mean to belittle the several tragic cases starting with cannabis and ending in suicide or police shootings. Rather, I’m focused on the majority of civil prosecution cases that will be life-altering but not insurmountable.

The role of the CFO in the marijuana business

The role of the small business Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is typically described in four distinct functions. I describe my own CFO role as filling five functions in the emerging marijuana industry.

#1

Recordkeeping

The CFO has primary responsibility to assemble, safeguard, manage and store the financial records of the company. This basic but necessary service is best handled by a person focused and experienced on business records. This may sound straightforward, but I find that almost every business faces challenges keeping and managing necessary records.

#2

Internal controls

CFOs add value by designing, monitoring internal controls. This happens to be the area where management tends to have the least experience and so this important function might be otherwise overlooked, leading to financial losses that could have been avoided. Management often underestimates the risk of fraud and misappropriation; the CFO must keep that risk control front and center.

#3

Communication and reporting

The CFO communicates internally to management and to external stakeholders.

A business needs accurate timely data to make good management decisions. The always-changing type of data, the format, timing and the method of delivery are all important components to consider as part of this function. Management may also need to know how the company is doing compared to the competition or benchmarks established by investors. Managers typically want to know the business is doing now compared to earlier periods.

CFOs also oversee duties related to owners, investors and shareholders and are the primary control of risks related to management fraud and disclosing financial information.

Sometimes the CFO must develop forecasts of future performance and utilize industry benchmarking data.

#4

Compliance

Every company has compliance issues to address with government, and the CFO oversees many of them. Filing and paying taxes is obviously one major burden, but not the only compliance requirement. Marijuana businesses face strict non-financial recordkeeping burdons.

#5

Advocate for management and the industry

The modern CFO is often active as an advocate, negotiator and representative of the company in dealing with new potential customers, government regulators, and investors. I often find myself active through industry associations that leverage the power of small independent businesses.

I am pleased to discuss how an experienced part-time CFO can help your business. Please use the chat box below to send a message or the scheduling link on the right to set a time to talk.

What you don’t know about taxes…

Have you ever wondered why you hear on TV that some taxpayer’s who do not pay their taxes can settle for “pennies on the dollar” while others less fortunate are prosecuted and go to jail? If you are one of the 1 in 15 persons in this country with serious tax delinquencies, it is critical to understand the distinctions under IRS rules.

It is clear that what people don’t know about taxes can hurt them; and often does! These tragic cases we read about in the news are typically people who did not realize that they needed professional representation BEFORE talking to the IRS. The combination of overconfidence and lack of legal know-how can be devastating.

That’s why I offer a free 30 minute tax consultation to discuss their tax issues, generally outline the options and suggest the best plan to move forward. There is no charge for this service, whether you decide to follow the advice offered or not. If I can offer you tips to resolve your tax debt from four decades of experience, then I’m pleased to do so.