By Hank Levy, Bridge West, LLC

This is the first of a series of blog posts that Jim Marty and I will do for NCIA. We will attempt to talk about our latest thoughts on the highly technical subject of 280E tax reform without boring you.

The latest development, of course, is that a new case just went up to the U.S. Tax Court. This was for the Canna Care Dispensary in the Del Paso Heights of Sacramento, California. Those of us experienced in the cannabis taxation field are extremely nervous about this case. None of us know Canna Care’s lawyer or their tax preparer. They are using religious beliefs as a defense against tax law (difficult!). And the judge is the same as in the Olive v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue case, which went very badly for the medical marijuana industry. The decision probably won’t be rendered for at least six months. As the Canna Care proprietors might say, let’s pray for the best.

Is there hope?  In future posts, we are going to discuss some ideas we have about 280E:

• The definition of trafficking, and seeing if this can help us.
• How other “criminal activity” is handled in tax law.
• The role of counseling and education in reducing the 280E problem.
• How the new FINCEN regulations on banking may give us some ways to maneuver around 280E

So, stay tuned.

Hank Levy is the owner of a CPA/Consulting Firm in the Rockridge section of Oakland California, in existence since 1990. The firm specializes in income tax planning and tax compliance for individuals, corporations, partnerships, LLCs, trusts, estates and non-profit clients. It also does training/consulting on QuickBooks as well as prepares financial disclosure reports for political campaigns. Hank and his partner Jim Marty make up Bridge West, LLC, a firm providing expert business & tax consulting for the legalized marijuana industry.