Article Summary State Tax Revenue from Marijuana Sales in Colorado Has Surpassed

Multiple Choice

Article Summary
State tax revenue from marijuana sales in Colorado has surpassed $500 million since its legalization in January 2014. Colorado has imposed three types of state taxes on marijuana: a 2.9% sales tax on medical marijuana, a 15% special sales tax for recreational use, and a 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana transfers. About half of the accumulated tax revenue has gone to K-12 education, with over $100 million used to fund school construction projects. Twenty-five percent of the tax is being spent on substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.
Source: Katelyn Newman, "Milestoned: Colorado Pot Tax Revenue Surpasses $500 M," usnews.com, July 20, 2017.
-Refer to the Article Summary.Colorado taxes marijuana with a 15% sales tax on recreational-use buyers and a 15% wholesale excise tax on producers, which equates to 50 percent of the total taxes paid by retail buyers and 50 percent paid by producers.Does this necessarily mean that buyers and producers will each bear 50 percent of the burden of the tax?

A) Yes, the percentage of taxes paid by each group represents the burden of the tax.
B) No, because consumers and producers always bear equal burdens of a tax.
C) No, the burden of a tax is always 100 percent on the consumer.
D) No, the burden of the tax will depend on the elasticity of demand and supply.