Three state taxes apply to marijuana, but medical and retail marijuana are taxed differently. Both medical and retail marijuana are subject to the 2.9 percent state sales tax, which is applied to most purchases in the state. Tax revenue collected from the sale of marijuana is deposited in two different funds: the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Fund and the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund (MCTF)
Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) requires voter approval of any new taxes. Prior to voter approval, it also requires that voters receive estimates of state spending without new taxes and the new tax revenue. This issue brief provides background information on one of the consequences of actual collections differing from what was provided to voters.
This issue brief provides information on mechanisms used to refund revenue in excess of the state's constitutional spending limit. The legislature determines how the excess revenue is refunded. Over the course of TABOR's history, there have been 21 different refund mechanisms.
This issue brief provides information on state enterprises, a special category of government entities created in the Colorado Constitution. An enterprise is a self-supporting, or largely self-supporting, government-owned business that receives its revenue in return for the provision of a good or service.
