Cannabis owners talk tax rise on hemp products
May 27, 2025
(ABC 6 News)- There is new concern over a bill at the state level that could be costly to cannabis businesses throughout the State of Minnesota.
The bill would raise a tax on certain cannabis products from 10% to 15%.
Ted Galaty is the owner and operator of Hemp Maze Minnesota just off of Highway 52. He said his business especially might be affected.
“It’s probably going to negatively impact us and could keep us from continuing our business in the future,” Galaty said.
The new tax would target products containing not only THC but also CBD, which has a wide variety of uses, including helping with pain relief and inflammation.
“We need to look at it as nutrition. So you can either consume it, or your body can produce it. We don’t overregulate and overtax Vitamin D, and we shouldn’t do that to any other nutritional supplement,” said Galaty.
Galaty isn’t alone, as other local businesses are also expressing concerns over how the new bill could hurt their bottom line.
“They seem to find a way to pay for all their regulation, and you know, the administrative overhead for it, at 2 and a half percent, but somehow cannabis needs 4 or 6 times that amount of tax, I think is kind of ridiculous,” said Jerry Collins, owner of Big Dream Organics in Albert Lea.
Another issue these business owners pointed out, is that the taxes on cannabis products are much higher than taxes on alcohol, and that’s something they say, needs to change.
As of right now, the state has not increased the tax just yet, but cannabis owners say the fight is still on to keep the tax number where it is.
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