Leaders in the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees reached a tax deal late Monday that includes a one-year extension of the federal excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers.
A survey commissioned by the Beer Institute (BI), a national trade group advocating for the U.S. brewing industry, found that 68% of respondents were in favor of extending the federal excise tax relief that was put in place in 2017, but slated to expire at the end of the year. Quadrant Strategies conducted the survey of 1,000 legal drinking age adults for the BI earlier this month.
A bill to extend federal excise tax (FET) relief has garnered a record number of co-sponsors following a day of action coordinated by the Beer Institute (BI), Brewers Association (BA) and other alcoholic beverage trade groups.
Barring a resolution before next week, President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with China — and increased tariffs on aluminum can sheet — threatens to further impact U.S. beer companies’ bottom lines. On Friday, Trump announced via Twitter plans to increase tariffs on $550 billion of imported Chinese goods over the next two months in retaliation for China saying it would impose $75 billion in tariffs on goods imported from America beginning October 1. And aluminum can producers are bracing for the higher aluminum costs and passing them onto their customers.
The beer industry’s efforts to make federal excise tax relief for brewers permanent received a boost Tuesday when members of a bipartisan congressional task force expressed support for the cause. U.S. Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a report from the Individual, Excise, and Other Temporary Tax Policy Task Force, which called for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) to be permanently enacted.
In this week’s Last Call: The House Ways and Means Committee passed a one-year extension of the federal excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers. Also, U.S. beer shipments declined in May, Deschutes begins selling canned drinking water, Bell’s Two Hearted tops the AHA’s best list, and more news briefs.
An effort to maintain reduced federal excise taxes (FET) on all brewers an importers could take a major step forward tonight. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to extend tax cuts for alcohol producers and importers as part of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 3301) extender bill.
Alcohol producers’ efforts to make excise tax relief permanent reached another milestone today, as a majority of Congress now supports the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA). In a joint announcement, seven alcohol industry trade groups said a bill to permanently enact tax cuts for alcohol producers and importers now has 218 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Nearly a year after imposing aluminum and steel tariffs against Canada and Mexico, the Trump administration today officially lifted levies imposed upon the two longtime trade allies. Ending tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada and Mexico marks a significant moment for the beer industry, as about 43 percent of aluminum used by U.S. beverage companies comes from Canada, according to Washington, D.C.-based trade group the Beer Institute (BI).
A majority of U.S. Senators support making permanent excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers. The 2019 version of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) added its 52nd supporter in the U.S. Senate today, with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) becoming a co-sponsor. The legislation seeks to make permanent the two years of tax breaks that alcohol producers and importers received as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are slated to expire at the end of this year.
In this week’s Last Call: Boston Beer CEO’s 2018 compensation hits $20 Million; New Belgium opens remodeled pub at Denver airport; 7-Eleven tests upscale store; Amazon seeks alcohol policy manager; New York State Liquor Authority fines Shmaltz; and more industry news.
In this week’s Last Call: Founders Brewing is sued for alleged racial discrimination; the New Jersey ABC suspends its taproom ruling; the Beer Institute expresses disappointment in continued aluminum tariffs; and more news.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: Boston Beer founder Jim Koch dines with President Trump; Buffalo Wild Wings considers sports betting; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s ties to a Montana brewery project come under scrutiny; a federal appeals court rejects a challenge to the MegaBrew merger; and more news.
A bipartisan group of Congressional members have called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate potential irregularities in the aluminum market, which they say are causing the price of the metal used in beverage cans to surge. In the letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) and 31 additional congressional members pointed to “sharp increases” in the Midwest Premium — which represents the full logistics costs of shipping and storing metal in the U.S. — as the potential cause of aluminum pricing irregularities.
