Illinois lawmakers have approved a budget bill that includes provisions that would allow licensed marijuana businesses to take state tax deductions that they’re currently prohibited from utilizing at the federal level due to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E.
The legislation—which also contains language directing funding to a cannabis development fund and extends a deadline for conditional licensees to find a storefront—passed both chambers on Saturday. It now heads to the Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) desk.
A key section that advanced decouples marijuana businesses from the federal tax policy, which currently bans the industry from making key deductions that are available to other traditional markets, significantly increasing the effective tax rate that they pay.
A provision will be added to the state’s existing tax code to allow cannabis business deductions for “an amount equal to the deductions that were disallowed under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxable year” as of the current tax year.
While lawmakers passed the budget with the handful of marijuana provisions included, as Illinois News Joint reported, separate broader cannabis omnibus legislation that would have restricted delta-8 THC products stalled ahead of the end of the session.
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Marijuana Moment
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