Officials: Pot tax not in Clinton County favor
Apr. 16—PLATTSBURGH — Clinton County Treasurer Kimberly Davis does not see sales tax from recreational marijuana being a significant source of income for the county.
"We certainly both need and will be grateful for the revenue," she told The Press-Republican. "For me, though, it's more important as a social justice issue than as a revenue creator for the county."
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
At a recent Clinton County Legislature Finance Committee meeting, Davis discussed how compassionate care, or medical marijuana, sales-tax revenue has greatly grown over the years.
According to previous reporting by The Press-Republican, the county received $1,005 in 2016, the first year such taxes were collected.
Davis said the year 2018 saw a 236 percent increase over 2017, followed by growth of 150 percent in 2019.
Finally, 2020 figures reflected an 88 percent increase over 2019, for a total of $63,000 in revenue.
Davis expects that those numbers will level off.
"We will most likely always have some kind of growth, but not to the extent that we have."
TAX STRUCTURE
The county receives 22.5 percent of the seven percent in sales tax on medical marijuana, Davis said.
But things are set to be structured much differently once retail sales of recreational marijuana start, she added. New York State will set a 9 percent sales tax, coupled with 4 percent in county and local taxes and another tax based on the level of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), marijuana's active ingredient.
County Administrator Michael Zurlo said at the meeting that the taxing formula did not go in the county's favor. Instead of being split evenly between the county and the towns, villages or cities where the dispensaries reside, the county will receive just a quarter of that four percent.
Since New Yorkers can currently possess but not purchase recreational marijuana, Davis said at the meeting that she will be interested to see if those who can buy it medically are going to turn around and sell it.
"Or are people not going to understand the law, drive over to Vermont and buy it thinking that because it's legal there and legal to possess it here they can bring it over, which they can't, because you've crossed state lines and now it's a federal offense. So it is going to be interesting in these next few months to see what happens."
SALES TAX
As of March 31, sales-tax revenues for the county were almost $960,000 over projections, though about $435,000, or 6.37 percent, below last year's actual numbers.
"But I'm not concerned about that ... last year started off as a banner year," Davis said, noting that the county headed into the pandemic about $1.4 million ahead of projections.
Davis explained that, when the county receives sales tax payments, they are based on estimates from the state. Once adjustments — where potentially more could be given or taken away, if the state made an error — are made in the "clean-up months" of April and October, the best picture of how the county is doing so far will emerge.
Zurlo expressed optimism that sales-tax revenues will exceed what was budgeted. He noted that the legislature passed a 2021 budget that featured projections 8.5 percent lower than what was budgeted for in 2020.
Davis expects to have more specifics on which areas are driving sales tax at the next finance committee meeting in May.
FORECLOSURE
Davis said the governor and legislature's plans on whether to extend the foreclosure moratorium, currently set to expire May 1, remains unknown.
"The feeling of my fellow treasurers is that it will be extended, but we have nothing to base that on other than just the current situation," she told legislators at the meeting.
If the moratorium is extended, Davis said the county will probably roll things over into next year.
"If they don't renew it, then on May 2, we could file the petition with the court to have their usually about three-week review," Davis said. "Once the judge would sign it, that would start the 45-day clock, and then we would most likely foreclose some time in mid-July, and have an auction in early September."
The county budgeted $375,000 in revenue from a potential tax sale this year.
16 REDEMPTIONS
In early March, Davis had a list of 185 properties headed to foreclosure. As of Thursday, that number had decreased to 169, which breaks down to 111 residences, seven commercial properties and 51 vacant properties.
Davis noted that 62 were from last year and that 13 were in long-term contracts and will be excluded from foreclosure if they continue their payments.
All but one of the properties taken off the list were residences.
"It's always bad for someone to lose any kind of piece of property," Davis said. "They will obviously do more to save a home than a vacant piece of land."
She attributed the recent surge of redemptions in part to people getting their stimulus checks and anticipating tax refunds.
Additionally, her office informed them in a letter that, if they do not pay their taxes by April 30, they will have to pay 2021 taxes as well, something people were likely not aware of when the eviction moratorium came down.
Davis also noted that, last year, a law was passed that would make those who are more than a year behind on their property taxes ineligible for basic STAR exemptions or credits.
She advised anyone having a hard time paying their property taxes to find out what programs, like payment plans, are available as soon as possible.
"The options decrease the further into foreclosure you get. We don't want anyone to get into that situation when there are programs available."
Email Cara Chapman:
Twitter: @PPR_carachapman
