News: H.R. 4278 = Craft Beer Stimulus

From a post on the BeerAdvocate Forum (you'll need to be a member to read the thread, but I'm hoping no one at the site minds my re-posting of this article, since it behooves us all to get the word out. Thanks for RicoBrew for originally posting.):

H.R. 4278 the "Small Brewers Stimulus"

Imagine that, bipartisanship can happen as long as craft beer is involved. HR 4278 is a graduated excise tax reduction bill introduced by Rep. Neal (D-MA) and Rep. Brady (R-TX)

The wording of the bill will give brewers who produce less than 60,000 barrels/year a federal excise tax cut from $7/barrel to $3.50/barrel. Between 60,000 and 2,000,000 barrels per year will get a rate cut from $18 to $16 per barrel produced.

The bill is currently trying to make its way through the Ways and Means committee (which Rep. Neal is the Chairperson). The Brewers Association is busy trying to get their member breweries mobilized and calling their representatives to cosponsor the bill. Info can be viewed here:

http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/current-issues/show?title=graduated-excise-tax-legislation-introduced

Also a nice video from News 4:

http://cbs4denver.com/video/?id=67298@kcnc.dayport.com

Will this mean cheaper beer? No. But it'll help your favorite brewery grow and thrive despite this down economy and also create jobs.

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