George Runner, the State Board of Equalization’s vice chair, wants the federal government to allow businesses that sell medical marijuana to open bank accounts.
Runner and board member Fiona Ma are co-sponsoring a resolution that calls on the president and Congress to back policies so medical marijuana businesses can receive financial services.
“Removing this barrier to the medical marijuana industry will go a long way towards improving public safety and bringing about greater tax compliance,” said Runner. “The current cash-based system is just too dangerous.”
The resolution was authored by Assemblyman Tom Lackey, who is a former CHP officer. It says, among other things, that because medical marijuana businesses can’t have bank accounts, they cannot easily comply with tax laws.
In addition, because such businesses have to operate on a cash-only basis, they sometimes have hundreds of thousands of dollars on-hand, which makes them vulnerable to crime.
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