What are your views on the proposed licence fees for the types of licences?

"Accessible economic benefits for individuals" I fully understand and support the government making this industry into a revenue source, however this can be done in ways that make market entry more accessable to all. The proposed license fees appear too high for most would-be entrepreneurs to afford upfront, especially considering the banks will be very reluctant to lend to startup companies in a new, recently-legalized industry. Could there be options for revenue generation that don't create such a large hurdle to entering the industry? Such as: (1) Fee + Tax: Applicant elects to pay a lower up-front fee, combined with a tax on sales. For example, if the fee was $5,000 and a tax of 15% of revenue was collected. This would still weed out (no pun intended) the less serious applicants, however wouldn't be a significant barrier to entry to the industry. The tax could be on a sliding scale to make this more fair, e.g. 0% on first $50k of sales, 5% on next $50k, etc. If the applicant's business is successful in the medium/long term, they could revert to paying the flat fee of $30k. (2) "Financing" / Payment Deferral: Applicant elects for a "financing" option of the fee. There would be an ability for applicants to defer payments so they could start earning whilst paying the fee. For example, having monthly payments, starting 6 months after the business was up and running. Yes, for businesses that fail, government will not collect this revenue, but this is risk-sharing with entrepreneurs to help them get started. (3) Refundable fee: Removing the non-refundable status of application fees - part 14(c)(1), or at least refund it at 75% for example. With the fee being non-refundable, this primarily means applications will only be received from individuals / companies that can not only afford $30k, but can afford to lose $30k before breaking ground. Given one of the government's stated intentions is for "accessible economic benefits for individuals", it would be wonderful to be able to see more individuals be able to participate in this new industry, not just those that can afford a large initial cash outlay.

First you need to eliminate this absurd and disturbing idea of taking people's money and keeping it if they dont qualify for the licenses.. as it is proposed will only infuriate those who need the opportunity.. so I pay 20,000 for manufacturing license and you have the right to deny my application and keep my money.. that will not go over well.. easier to have a small application fee than to rape someone's bank account for thousands of dollars only to tell them that they aren't eligible.. how can you even entertain such foolishness and skulduggery that would be hurting your own people..do better for your people PLP and OBA.. IT TIME TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE AVERAGE BERMUDIAN...

It appears to a lot of Bermudians that pursuant to schedule 2 of the CANNABIS (LICENSING AND REGULATION) ACT 2020, this bill was designed as a mechanism to make the rich even richer and to keep the poor right where they are. This is due to the fact that the draft bill completely marginalizes the average Bermudian. These rates exclude the same people who were directly impacted by marijuana criminalization from the very same industry that is now being promoted. The average Bermudian does not have the funds to apply for the majority of these licenses and they are not only being displaced, but robbed of the equal opportunity which would allow them to thrive in this economy. Drug-policy reform—and, specifically, legalizing weed—is a critical tool for ending systemic racism, however if this draft bill fails to take the average Bermudian into consideration, the vast majority of the marijuana retail outlets —particularly the long established, well-capitalized, licensees - will not reflect the very people this government repeatedly stated that they aimed to protect. If the average black family has just one tenth the wealth of the average white family, this means the average black Bermudian will get to legally smoke marijuana, but the bulk of the estimated multi-million dollar marijuana revenue would go to white organizations instead of black entrepreneurs who made marijuana a multi-billion dollar enterprise prior and subsequent to its legalization. With this current draft bill, the real economic benefit of marijuana legalization will go to rich white people as the average Bermudians dreams continue to go up in smoke.