Brewers are hoping for a big tax cut, and it looks as though Congress wants to give it to them, but time is running short.
With 284 co-sponsors in the House and 51 in the Senate, the Craft Beverage Modernization Act already has the backing of a majority in Congress. Richard Blau, a regulated industries attorney with the firm Gray Robinson, says the measure would cut the federal excise tax in half for many craft brewers—dropping it to $3.50 a barrel for the first 60,000.
“$3.50 times 60,000, again you know I’m not the best math whiz but you’re talking about over $200,000 a year in tax savings,” Blau says. “So what you could do with $200,000? I think there’s a lot of craft brewers that would tell you they’ve got a lot of ideas.”
After Election Day, lawmakers will return to Washington for the lame duck session, when they could act on the proposal.
