AURORA, Colo. -- An Aurora City Council committee gave the green light to a proposal raising the city's retail marijuana tax and dedicating the funds to support homeless services.
The proposal would increase the tax from 5.75 percent to 7.75 percent at the same time the state tax drops from 10 percent to 8 percent on July 1, 2017, meaning the tax rate would not change for users.
"When I found out about this, I thought this would be a great way to provide a revenue stream to provide services to the homeless," said Bob LeGare, an Aurora City Council member who proposed the change.
The tax would generate an estimated $1.5 million annually, and a proposed use would be to support operations of a planned homeless day resource center.
Aurora has already allocated millions in marijuana tax money to fund homeless services, but LeGare said that money is only dedicated for the next three years.
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