Nevada Cannabis board cracking down on marijuana companies that are late on taxes, license fees

Nevada’s Cannabis Compliance Board is implementing stricter procedures after holders of some 70 marijuana business licenses had past due taxes or didn’t renew their licenses on time.

Board Executive Director Tyler Klimas said that out of more than 700 marijuana licenses in the state, about 560 were due for renewal by June 30. But 11 licensees, holding a collective 22 licenses, hadn’t submitted renewal paperwork or fees well into July.

“We did not renew these licenses, and instead sent correspondence indicating that METRC access would be shut off immediately,” Klimas said at a board meeting on Tuesday, referring to the state’s seed-to-sale tracking database needed to conduct legal marijuana transactions. “This correspondence resulted in one licensee surrendering its distribution license, and the others fulfilling their financial obligations for the renewal and application submissions.”

He also said 18 licensees, who hold a collective 48 licenses, had outstanding tax debts ranging from $500 to $4 million that dated back as far as March 2019. The board sent messages indicating the companies would be cut off from the tracking database if they didn’t pay up, and all delinquent licensees have since paid their debts or are working out payment plans with the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Klimas said that moving forward, the board plans to notify businesses immediately if they miss a deadline, terminating access to the database until the issue is resolved. [The Nevada Independent]