Utqiagvik weighs a change to how it taxes marijuana

The Utqiagvik City Council takes up a change to the city's marijuana tax on Saturday, the second version of a measure first floated July 23. The packet lists it only as "Ordinance Amending Marijuana Tax," without spelling out what the amendment would do.

Whatever the city settles on would stack on top of state taxes already in place: a $12.50-an-ounce excise tax when marijuana leaves a cultivation facility, and a 6 percent state sales tax at retail. Utqiagvik's own general sales tax is 3 percent.

Other Alaska communities have gone their own ways on this. Anchorage voters approved a 5 percent tax on retail marijuana sales in 2016. The Northwest Arctic Borough taxes marijuana grown in or brought into the borough commercially, with separate rates for bud, flower, plant remainder and manufactured products.