Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act

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The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019 (S. 362; H.R. 1175) has been introduced in Congress. The legislation makes permanent the tax and other provisions passed as part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act which was signed into law in the closing days of 2017 on a temporary, two-year basis. Specific tax provisions relating to beer include: reducing the federal excise tax to $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels for domestic brewers producing fewer than 2 million barrels annually; reducing the federal excise tax to $16 per barrel on the first 6 million barrels for all other brewers and all beer importers; keeping the excise tax at the current $18 per barrel rate for barrelage over 6 million. Additional provisions address the transfer of beer between breweries and expanding the list of ingredients considered traditional in the production of fermented beverages.
The legislation also provides supplementary funding for the Tax and Trade Bureau, in addition to any other amounts appropriated: for fiscal year 2019, $15 million, to remain available until 9/30/2020; and for fiscal year 2020, $15 million, to remain available until 9/30/2021. Of the amounts appropriated for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, $5 million would be directed to 1) the costs of accelerating the processing of label and formula applications; 2) the costs of programs for trade practice enforcement violations; and 3) implementation of the new law, including accelerating the processing of permit applications for non-industrial alcohol production and distribution.

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