The Canadian government has amassed more than 1 billion Canadian dollars ($740 million) in total duty on legal marijuana since its legalization in 2018.
According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the federal government assessed approximately CA$862.3 million in total duty on cannabis products between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 fiscal years. Although the CRA has yet to publish comparable figures for the 2021-22 financial year, a report by MJBizDaily points out that the most recent public accounts show the federal government received revenue from the cannabis levy worth CA$160.2 million that year, bringing total duty since 2018 to a minimum of CA$1.02 billion.
The total duty since 2018 may be even higher given the public accounts figure for 2021-22 does not include duty collected by the federal government and shared with provinces and territories.
The total duty assessed by the CRA for each year:
- CA$514 million in 2020-21.
- CA$256.7 million in 2019-20.
- CA$91.6 million in 2018-19.
The figures include duty assessed by the federal government and shared with provinces and territories, as well as duty applicable only in some jurisdictions.
The federal government’s own revenue from the cannabis levy was:
- CA$160.2 million in 2021-22.
- CA$108.9 million in 2020-21.
- CA$52 million in 2019-20.
- CA$18.3 million in 2018-19.
Of the CA$514 million assessed by the CRA for the 2020-21 financial year, CA$403.3 million was classified by the revenue service as the sum of “additional” cannabis duty and an “adjustment” to that additional duty.
In an email to MJBizDaily, the CRA said the “additional” duty represents cannabis excise duty that the federal government agreed to share with provinces and territories from recreational marijuana sales in their respective jurisdictions. The federal government agreed to share 75% of the revenues it collects while keeping a quarter for itself.
Canada’s excise duties imposed on producers’ dried cannabis is either CA$1 per gram or 10% of the value of the gram, whichever is greater.
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