Memorandum
Date: June 2, 2020
To: The Honorable Moke Simon, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Carol J. Huchingson, County Administrative Officer
Subject: Consideration of Resolution Further Amending Resolution 2019-79 to Clarify the Procedures Used in the Collection of Taxes Due Pursuant to the Lake County Cannabis Cultivation Tax Ordinance
Executive Summary: (include fiscal and staffing impact narrative):
At the previous Board of Supervisors meeting on March 3, 2020, your Board provided staff direction regarding the collection of cannabis cultivation taxes. Staff advised that it would return to your Board with a resolution implementing said direction with the assistance of County Counsel.
Per your direction, the cannabis cultivation tax accrual shall be on an annualized basis using a calendar year model. This brings the process into alignment with Resolution 2019-162, which offered cultivators the opportunity to opt-out of cultivation in the current calendar year so long as the necessary documentation was filed by June 1st.
The annual cultivation tax will be imposed in its entirety in the calendar year in which the taxpayer begins to engage in cannabis cultivation operations. There will be no proration of cultivation taxes based off the amount of time in operation or a delayed start date. In consideration of the impacts surrounding COVID-19, the Resolution before your Board would extend the filing deadline to opt-out of cultivation to June 15th. This would offer any cultivator who has not yet begun operations, or a site in its first year of operation with a start date later this year, an opportunity to delay their operational date to January 1st, 2021, thereby not incurring a 2020 tax bill.
The proposed Resolution is attached for your Board's consideration.
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