U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is sponsoring a bill that would reduce taxes for small craft breweries and distilleries.
“Congress must cut taxes for Montana brewers and distillers so they can continue to grow and hire more folks in every corner of our state,” Tester said. “These small businesses use Montana grain to make world-class beer and booze, and by cutting regulations and reducing taxes these made-in-Montana businesses can continue to support our state’s economy.”
The bill, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (S. 236), applies to breweries and distilleries throughout the United States.
The legislation would reduce excise taxes in half for small breweries on their first 60,000 barrels of annual production. It then lowers the excise tax by two dollars for every barrel produced up to two million barrels.
For small distillers, Tester’s bill cuts the excise tax from $13.40 to $2.70 per gallon for the first 100,000 gallons produced.
It also simplifies the labeling approval process, which will help reduce costs and speed up the time it takes to get beer, wine or spirits to market.
“As craft beer continues to grow in Montana, and throughout the entire United States, it’s comforting to know our leaders in Washington, especially Senator Tester, are driving change to restrictive tax, compliance and regulation policies by supporting the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act,” Marcus Duffey, general manager of Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish, Montana, said.