In this edition of our Fireside Chats series originally aired on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 we hosted an all all-star panel of accounting experts & operators to dive deep into all things 280E with Mike and Michelle.

Tax day’s deadline extension this year was met with near universal support, but the extra month doesn’t change the cannabis industry’s biggest tax woe: IRC Section 280E. Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code prohibits any company that traffics in a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance from taking standard business deductions on their federal taxes. The result? State-legal marijuana companies often pay up to an 80%-90% tax rate to the IRS.

However, new bombshell reporting from Marijuana Business Daily details the extent to which the IRS is going to collect these taxes. The US Census Bureau recently announced that they will begin to collect marijuana tax revenue numbers from legal states. And, in March, the Congressional Research Service released their latest report on 280E. Clearly, policymakers are interested in cannabis tax policy, but to what end?

How is the IRS enforcing it? What do you need to be aware of in terms of audits? Is 280E retroactivity a possibility post-legalization? How are policymakers viewing cannabis tax revenue? What is considered “cost of goods sold”? How have the courts ruled on 280E? Is there a fix possible? And, of course– what does it all mean for cannabis policy reform? Our expert panel will answer all of these questions and more, so don’t miss out– watch now!

Panelists:
• Michael Correia, Director of Government Relations, NCIA
• Michelle Rutter Friberg, Deputy Director of Government Relations, NCIA
• Naomi Granger, Founder, The Association of Cannabis Accounting and Tax Professionals
• John Schroyer – Senior Author, Marijuana Business Daily
• Beau Whitney – Senior Economic Advisor, NCIA
• Javier Armas – Founder, Javier’s Organics