Tax marijuana, says D66

Thursday 23 July 2009

The Netherlands should consider imposing an extra tax on cannabis to generate more money for the treasury, Liberal Democrat MP Boris van der Ham said on Wednesday.

The suggestion follows the decision by American town Oakland to generate extra income with a marijuana tax.

D66 has asked finance minister Wouter Bos to make a statement on the issue, the Telegraaf said.

Last year, tv programme Reporter estimated coffee shops contribute some €400m to the treasury a year.

The country’s 700 coffee shops are responsible for selling some 265,000 kgs of soft drugs a year, mostly Dutch-grown marijuana, Reporter says. This means turnover in the sector is some €2bn a year.

© DutchNews.nl

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