Michigan licensees—DO NOT MISS A MAJOR CHANGE IN WHOLESALE TAX ADMINISTRATION!
The first payments for Michigan’s new wholesale are due, ironically, on April 20. As we previously reported, FAQs published by the Michigan Department of Treasury just a few weeks ago announced that product transferred to a retailer before the tax took effect on January 1, 2026, would be subject to wholesale tax if that retailer transferred or sold the product to another retailer in 2026. Because the law states that the tax applies only to the first transfer from a wholesaler to a retailer, this was a legally dubious position. It also flatly contradicted Treasury’s official Revenue Administrative Bulletin.
On April 13, Treasury reversed its FAQ, which now says:
A MRTMA licensed retailer buys cannabis from a wholesaler on December 30, 2025. On January 4, 2026, the retailer resells that same cannabis to another retailer. Would there be wholesale tax due on the January 4 transaction?
No. The first sale or transfer of the cannabis from a marihuana establishment to a marihuana retail licensee occurred prior to the effective date of the tax. Therefore, the tax does not apply.
Treasury’s FAQ is now consistent with the law. Stay tuned to Dykema’s Cannabis Law Blog for the next episode of “As the Treasury Turns.”