Buzz harshing alert

Here's an interesting development I haven't read much about elsewhere: Retailers of recreational marijuana in Oregon now need to get a certificate of tax compliance from the state Department of Revenue before they can get their pot licenses renewed at the OLCC, as they must once a year. And the new rule picks up a lot of folks who you might not think woud be subject to it.

“[A]pplicant” includes any individual or legal entity who holds or controls a direct or indirect interest of 20% or more in a recreational marijuana business, as well as any individual or entity who has an “ownership Interest” in the business (see below). Both categories are considered the applicant(s) for a license, and will be considered licensee(s) once a license is issued.

This includes any individual or legal entity entitled to receive 20% or more in revenue or profits from the business, whether or not they are part of the proposed business itself. For example, a landlord receiving 20% or more in profits as part of a rental agreement is considered an applicant.

“Ownership interest”... includes:

• Exercising control over, or having the right to exercise control over, the business. This includes having the right to control access to the premises.
• Incurring debt, entering into contracts, or entering into other similar obligations on behalf of the business.
• Being named as a lessee of the proposed premises. If there is no lease, then the property owner is considered to be an applicant for the license.

If an applicant is a legal entity, any individual or other legal entity who meets any of the following criteria is also considered an applicant:

• Managers of a manager-managed LLC 
• Principal officers of a corporation
• General partners of a limited partnership

If I had to bet, a lot of interesting things are happening in the pot world in reaction to this new requirement – some legit things and some not. It's been three months under the new rules; I wonder how it's going at the two state agencies involved.