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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Dope duty could raise £1 billion
Ananova Wednesday 11 Jul 2001 Decriminalising cannabis in the UK could rake in £1 billion a year in duty, according to an economist. Maurice Fitzpatrick, head of economics at Chantrey Vellacott DFK, says selling dope in licensed outlets could boost Government revenues by the equivalent of a penny on the rate of income tax. His comments come after ex-Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Lilley proposed decriminalising the drug last week. The Tory MP compared the drug enforcement policies of the US and UK with those of Holland, where marijuana has been sold via licensed outlets for almost 25 years. Mr Lilley argued that short of legalising trade in cannabis entirely, the only way to stop driving soft drug users into the arms of dealers pushing hard drugs was to go via licensed retail outlets. A Dutch-style regime would levy tax on cannabis sales, set at a level which does not drive trade underground. Mr Fitzpatrick has told Accounting Web: "As a firm of accountants, we wouldn't comment on the desirability of change, but we can comment on the figures. "If you put the money into the NHS, it might raise health spending closer to average European levels." Mr Fitzpatrick reached his estimate on the basis of a million people spending an average of £20 a week on the drug, and that it was taxed on the same basis as cigarettes, where £3 of every £4 pack is made up of Government duty.
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