Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker has signed into law legislation that will allow marijuana businesses that are legal under state law to take standard state-level tax deductions.
Filed by State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth, House Bill 3817 is cosponsored by 19 other legislators. The measure passed the Senate 36 to 20, and passed the House of Representatives 73 to 38.
The new law alters the state’s existing tax code to allow marijuana businesses to take deductions for “an amount equal to the deductions that were disallowed under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxable year”. House Bill 3817 makes several other changes to state law, but this is the only provision that applies to the legal marijuana industry
The legislation is seen as a partial remedy to IRS code 280E, which prevents federally illegal entities from taking tax deductions. Although the measure doesn’t allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions, it would allow them to take the state-level tax deductions the same as any other legal business in Illinois.
According to data released by the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer, the state sold $50 million worth of legal marijuana and marijuana products in April. This brings the year-to-date total to almost $150 million
