Michigan Lawmaker Wants a 12-Month Pause on the 24% Wholesale Cannabis Tax

A Michigan lawmaker who is also running for lieutenant governor wants to hit pause on one of the state's newest cannabis taxes. State Rep. Jay DeBoyer, a Republican, announced last week that he plans to introduce legislation that would suspend Michigan's 24 percent wholesale cannabis tax for 12 months. The idea, according to the announcement, is to buy time to take a fresh look at how the tax is working. Lawmakers approved the levy last year as part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's plan to pay for road repairs, a package that tied cannabis revenue to infrastructure funding. Since then, the tax has been a point of tension for the industry, as it lands on businesses at the wholesale level and can influence pricing and margins throughout the supply chain. DeBoyer's proposal does not call for permanently repealing the tax. Instead, it frames a one-year suspension as a way to reevaluate the policy and its effects before deciding what comes next. That distinction could matter in the legislature, where any pause would raise questions about how the state would cover the road funding the revenue was meant to support. Whitmer, a Democrat, championed the broader funding plan, so a bill from a Republican candidate to pull back a piece of it is likely to draw political attention, particularly with DeBoyer also campaigning for statewide office. Whether the measure gains traction remains to be seen. For Michigan cultivators, processors, and retailers, the proposal is worth following closely, since any change to the wholesale tax would affect how product is priced and how much money stays in the cannabis market.