New figures reveal that marijuana dealers owe a staggering $269.8 million in unpaid taxes, with 290 entities delinquent on their cannabis excise duty. Blacklock's Reporter says among these is Eve & Co., a now-insolvent cannabis dealer that had Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre) as a paid director."There are 290 separate entities that have unpaid cannabis excise duty," the Canada Revenue Agency disclosed in a recent Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons.Naqvi, who is also parliamentary secretary for health, drew employment income from Eve & Company before its 2022 bankruptcy. The company owed the Canada Revenue Agency $1.9 million, including $1,434,051 in unpaid excise tax..The Competition Bureau estimates that two-thirds of licensed marijuana dealers are tax delinquents, with the total amount of unpaid cannabis excise duties continuously rising since legalization."Sixty-six percent of licensees required to remit excise duties had an outstanding debt with the Canada Revenue Agency," said a report from the Bureau.Parliament legalized marijuana in 2018 and taxed it at $1 per gram plus GST. However, with the average price per gram falling since legalization, excise duties now take up a more significant portion of cannabis producers' revenues.The cannabis industry has seen 34 corporations collapse since 2020, including national wholesalers and retail chains. The Canada Revenue Agency's figures suggest that many more may be struggling to pay their taxes.
