Vote: Should provinces get a bigger share of the pot tax?

When the first concrete details of Canada’s legal marijuana regime came to light, one of the key pieces of the framework was a 50-50 split in excise tax revenues between the provinces and the federal government from the sale of pot. The tax is the fee the federal government announced that would see buyers pay a dollar or 10 per cent of the final retail price for their pot—whichever is higher.

But the provinces have also been tasked with much of the heavy lifting when weed is legalized. They will be charged with creating the regulating access to marijuana, making public education programs, and policing. But the federal government won’t be as involved in the day-to-day running of legalized cannabis, aside from setting national guidelines within which the provinces operate.

Cities will carry the biggest burden with legalization, given the widespread availability of dispensaries in almost every large Canadian municipality. They have joined with provinces in demanding more tax revenue.

While initially tepid to the idea, the federal government has yielded to their demands to change the 50-50 tax revenue split. But the exact split hasn’t been decided, and is being discussed between federal finance minister Bill Morneau and his provincial counterparts.

So, given cities and provinces will be tasked with managing marijuana legalization once it happens, do you think they should get a larger share of the tax pie? Take our poll and let us know!