A top IRS official recently said that giving cannabis businesses access to banking would be good for their agency. IRS official Cassidy Collins said that one reason cannabis businesses use a lot of cash is that people don’t want a record of them purchasing cannabis. The other is that most banks won’t work with cannabis businesses due to the fact cannabis is still illegal at the federal level. Collins noted Congress has been debating giving cannabis businesses explicit access to banking.

“There’s been a number of legislative bills that have been introduced—and I am definitely not expressing any opinion personally or on behalf of the IRS about any pending or proposed legislation,” Collins said. “But it is interesting to note that, if the law changed so that the marijuana businesses could have banks, that would make the IRS’s job to collect [taxes] a lot easier. As part of collection, we want the money. That’s our end goal there.”

Michael Correia, a lobbyist for the National Cannabis Industry Association, told Cannabis News Box that this isn’t the first time IRS officials have spoken about this issue. He said the head of the IRS spoke about how they’d prefer to collect taxes electronically just months ago.

“The problem stems from cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug. Until something like the SAFE Banking Act passes, or cannabis is descheduled, the problem remains for the IRS just as it does other financial institutions,” Correia said.

The SAFE Banking Act has passed in the House both by itself and as an amendment to another piece of legislation, but it still hasn’t made it through Congress. Correia said they’re continuing to push to get it passed as soon as possible.

“Surprisingly, some of the biggest opponents at this point are Democrats who don’t view SAFE as going far enough. NCIA has a slightly different take: we want comprehensive, descheduling legislation to pass. But let’s be honest, the votes aren’t there,” Correia said. “So passing something like SAFE Banking would be huge — especially when it comes to lowering barriers to entry for entrepreneurs of color and creating a more diverse industry.”

Correia said the number of cannabis businesses that have had access to banking has actually declined this year. He said it remains a major problem for cannabis businesses, and it’s time for Congress to do something about it.