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Lobbying Activities Percentage of 2020 Dues

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Senior Vice President of Professional Brewing Division

Paul Gatza is the Senior Vice President of Professional Brewing Division at the Brewers Association. Paul’s origin in the beer community started when he took up homebrewing in 1990. He worked on the bottling line at Boulder Beer and would sneak over to the brewhouse when opportunity allowed. He owned a pair of homebrew supply shops in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado from 1994 to 1998. He served as director of the American Homebrewers Association for seven years and is in his 23rd year as Brewers Association director. Paul is ranked as a National Beer Judge by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Paul is also a former judge director of both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, before moving to the judge panels for these elite competitions.

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For 2020, the percentage of non-deductible dues pertaining to your tax return is 6.0%. This non-deductible percentage represents the amount that cannot be claimed as a business expense by Brewers Association members on their 2020 tax returns.

Lobbying funds for the professional division in 2020 were related primarily to communications to educate elected federal representatives, senators, and their staffs on issues affecting small and independent brewers. These issues include the successful passage of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which reduces the federal excise tax by 50% for most brewers.

Your dues payment as a business expense for the year 2020 will be limited by the percentage of dues that went towards supporting lobbying activities, and only the remaining portion of your dues can be claimed as an expense on your federal tax return. Contact your tax professional to determine the deductibility of your membership dues.

If you have any questions about the implications of this information, we recommend you discuss with your accountant(s). If you need further information from the Brewers Association regarding this topic, please contact me.

Link to author biography
Senior Vice President of Professional Brewing Division

Paul Gatza is the Senior Vice President of Professional Brewing Division at the Brewers Association. Paul’s origin in the beer community started when he took up homebrewing in 1990. He worked on the bottling line at Boulder Beer and would sneak over to the brewhouse when opportunity allowed. He owned a pair of homebrew supply shops in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado from 1994 to 1998. He served as director of the American Homebrewers Association for seven years and is in his 23rd year as Brewers Association director. Paul is ranked as a National Beer Judge by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Paul is also a former judge director of both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, before moving to the judge panels for these elite competitions.

See Paul Gatza's Articles