Bipartisan Letter Calls on House Leaders to Include Small Alcohol Producers in Omnibus
Although the reduction in the alcohol excise tax for small producers was meant to last two years, the temporary tax cut continues to draw wide support in Washington to make it permanent. The craft brewers and small distilleries, cider-makers and wineries won a one-year renewal at the end of last year, and 125 members of the House wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to ask that the tax break be extended.
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The Dec. 10 letter, led by Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., says that every state has either a craft brewery, distillery, meadery, cider-maker or winery. They say that the small businesses, along with the farmers who supply their ingredients and the bottlers or canneries that they rely on, add up to 5.4 million jobs to the economy. They said the closing of restaurants, bars and tasting rooms has devastated these companies' businesses, and they “now face a second looming crisis, an increase in their federal excise taxes.”
In a press release announcing the letter, Kind said, “For many of these businesses, this tax increase could be the final straw. We need to act now to extend this critical economic lifeline to brewers and provide much needed relief.” The proposal to cut the alcohol excise tax permanently for small producers also has a champion in the Senate (see 2011300054).