The GOP-backed tax plan moving rapidly through U.S. Congress towards President Trump’s office has spirits producers praising the bill.
The Senate’s version of this legislation would lower the excise tax rate for producers of craft spirits. The beer and wine industries already enjoy such a tax break. The new bill would extend the same benefit to the spirits industry.
That prospect has garnered praise for the tax plan from Kraig R. Naasz, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
“The Distilled Spirits Council commends Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and their colleagues for their efforts to enact comprehensive tax reform,” Naasz recently wrote on the DISCUS website. “The two-year version of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act sponsored by Senator Rob Portman and contained in the Senate tax reform bill will create a fairer tax structure for all beverage alcohol. It will enable producers of distilled spirits to invest back in their businesses and communities across the United States.”
“Distilled spirits are among the most highly taxed consumer goods in the United States and we support the enactment of pro-growth, comprehensive tax reform,” Naasz continued. “The Council commendsthe Senate for its efforts to create a simpler, more competitive and equitable tax system through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
The American Craft Spirits Association has also come out in favor of the proposed tax change.