Relief from Federal Excise Tax Could Be on the Horizon for South Carolina Brewers
On June 11, 2015, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2015 was introduced in the U.S. Senate with a companion bill, the Small BREW Act, introduced on July 8 in the House of Representatives. Many in the brewing and distilling industries are singing the Bills’ praises in hopes it will provide a measure of excise tax parity that will boost investment and create new jobs.
Last week, the Beer Institute and the Brewers Association submitted a joint letter in support of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act to Members of Congress. The letter described the legislation as one that “recalibrates and updates the federal excise tax on alcohol and reduces the administrative and regulatory burdens for brewers, importers, and other craft beverage producers. This common sense, forward-looking approach will help the entire beer industry remain competitive, create good-paying jobs, and benefit American consumers.”
Of particular importance to South Carolina brewers is that the Bill, among other things, proposes to reduce the Federal Excise Tax as follows:
- Reduces the Federal Excise Tax from $7.00 per barrel to $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels for domestic brewers producing fewer than 2 million barrels annually.
- Reduce the Federal Excise Tax from $18 per barrel to $16 per barrel on the first 6 million barrels for all other brewers and all beer importers
- Keeps the Federal Excise Tax at the current $18 per barrel rate for barrelage over 6 million.
While both Bills have garnered a number of co-sponsors, no one from the South Carolina delegation has signed on as of yet.
