Two years ago, Congress passed and the president signed a wide-ranging tax law that included relief for American breweries, especially for the smaller ones. There was a catch: The tax cut was set to expire at the end of 2019, unless Congress acts to renew it.
With a little more than a month left on the calendar, Congress has yet to act.
Among other provisions, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) reduced the excise tax to $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels of beer at smaller breweries—those producing 2 million barrels or less per year. The law also otherwise reduced the general rates to $16 per barrel for the first 6 million barrels produced, and to $18 per barrel beyond that. The law also included tax relief for winemakers and distillers.