[Added 7-5-2022 by Ord. No. 28-2022; amended 1-17-2023 by Ord. No. 2-2023]
A new article of the City Code captioned "Transfer and User Tax" is hereby created to establish transfer and user taxes on cannabis transactions by licensed cannabis businesses within the City pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48I-1.
The purpose of this article is to impose a tax on the sale of cannabis or cannabis products by licensed commercial cannabis businesses operating in the City of Millville pursuant to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act,[1] to specify the type of tax and rate of tax to be levied and the method of collection, and to comply with all requirements for the imposition of a transfer or user tax pursuant to state law. This article is enacted solely to raise revenue and not for regulation. This article does not authorize the conduct of any business or activity in the City of Millville, but provides for the taxation of such businesses or activities as they occur.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 24:6I-31 et seq.
For the purpose of this article, words and phrases herein shall have the same meanings as codified under state law, N.J.S.A. 40:481-1(d), and any amendments or supplements thereto, and the rules and regulations of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. In the event of a conflict in the meaning of words or phrases as between the City Code and the foregoing laws or regulations of the state concerning legal cannabis, state law or regulations shall govern.
The City of Millville hereby imposes and shall collect certain local option taxes on cannabis business activity as follows:
A. 
A municipal transfer tax is hereby imposed on the receipts of each sale by a licensed cannabis business operating in the City of Millville at the rate of 2% of the receipts from each sale by a cannabis cultivator, and a cannabis manufacturer, and 1% of the receipts from each sale by a cannabis wholesaler.
B. 
A municipal user tax is hereby imposed, at the equivalent transfer tax rates, on any concurrent license holder operating more than one cannabis establishment. The user tax shall be imposed on the value of each transfer or use of cannabis or cannabis items not otherwise subject to the transfer tax imposed pursuant to this section from the license holder's establishment that is located in the municipality to any of the other license holder's establishments, whether located in the municipality or another municipality.
A. 
The transfer tax or user tax imposed by this article shall be collected or paid and remitted to the City of Millville by the cannabis establishment from the cannabis establishment purchasing or receiving the cannabis or cannabis item. The transfer tax or user tax shall be stated, charged, and shown separately on any sales slip, invoice, receipt, or other statement or memorandum of the price paid or payable, or equivalent value of the transfer, for the cannabis or cannabis item.
B. 
Every cannabis establishment required to collect a transfer tax or user tax imposed by ordinance pursuant to this article shall be personally liable for the transfer tax or user tax imposed, collected, or required to be collected under this article. Any cannabis establishment shall have the same right with respect to collecting transfer tax or user tax from another cannabis establishment as if the transfer or user tax was part of the purchase price of the cannabis or cannabis item and payable at the same time; provided, however, that the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Millville shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the transfer tax.
C. 
No cannabis establishment required to collect a transfer tax or user tax imposed by this article shall advertise or hold out to any person or to the public in general in any manner, directly or indirectly, that the transfer tax or user tax will not be separately charged and stated to another cannabis establishment or that the transfer tax or user tax will be refunded to the cannabis establishment.
D. 
All revenues collected from the transfer tax or user tax imposed by ordinance pursuant to this article shall be remitted to the City of Millville Chief Financial Officer on a quarterly basis, payable for the prior three months' activities and due at the same time as quarterly dates for the collection of property taxes. The revenues due on February 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of October, November and December. The revenues due on May 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of January, February and March. The revenues due on August 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of April, May and June. The revenues due on November 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of July, August and September. There shall be a ten-day grace period for the payment of said transfer tax and/or user tax which will coincide with the ten-day grace period typically permitted for property tax payments. There shall be no extension of the cannabis transfer tax/user tax grace period without a resolution of the governing body authorizing a specific extension.
E. 
All payments to the City of Millville shall be accompanied by such supporting data and made in such a manner as may be prescribed by the Chief Financial Officer.
F. 
The Chief Financial Officer shall collect and administer the local cannabis transfer tax and user tax imposed by this article. The City of Millville shall enforce the payment of delinquent local cannabis transfer tax and user tax in the same manner and at the same interest rates as provided for municipal real property taxes.
G. 
In the event that the local cannabis transfer tax and user tax imposed by this article is not paid as and when due by a cannabis business, the unpaid balance, and any interest accruing thereon, shall be a lien on the parcel of real property comprising the cannabis business in the same manner as all other unpaid municipal taxes, fees, or other charges. The lien shall be superior and paramount to the interest in the parcel of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee, or other person, except the lien of municipal taxes, and shall be on a parity with and deemed equal to the municipal lien on the parcel for unpaid property taxes due and owing in the same year. In the event of a delinquency, the Chief Financial Officer shall file with the Tax Collector a statement showing the amount and due date of the unpaid balance and identifying the lot and block number of the parcel of real property that comprises the delinquent cannabis business. The lien shall be enforced as a municipal lien in the same manner as all other municipal liens are enforced.