Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2019
Under Section 280E of the IRS code, cannabis businesses are not allowed to take tax deductions on normal business expenses like employee salaries, rent and utility bills because the federal government considers their trade illegal drug trafficking — even where cannabis sales are legal under state law. As a result, the effective federal tax rate for legal cannabis businesses can reach 70% to 90%. No other industry has to operate with this very high tax rate.
