The legal sales of marijuana and marijuana products netted Colorado $325,103,684 in tax revenue in 2022.
This brings the total tax revenue garnered from legal marijuana sales since the first licensed retail outlet opened in 2014 to $2,344,036,689, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The total tax revenue made in 2022 is lower than the pandemic numbers of 2021 and 2020, but higher than all years prior to 2020.
In Colorado the excise tax on marijuana is set at 15%, which is on top of the 2.9% standard statewide sales tax. In addition to these taxes, localities have the option of implementing a city-wide tax of up to 3%. The tax revenue for 2022 came from roughly $1.8 billion in marijuana sales, bringing the to-date total to over $14 billion.
The top year for marijuana taxes since the start of legal sales was 2021, with $423 million. This beat the record of $387 million set the previous year. In 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the state made $302 million in marijuana taxes.
Colorado was one of the first two states to legalize marijuana with the passage of a 2012 citizen’s initiative. Although marijuana possession became legal the following year, the first marijuana stores didn’t begin opening until 2014.
