November 28, 2017 08:59 AM UTC

Sorry Beer Lovers, Tax Bill Won't Make Your Suds Cheaper

• 7 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post’s Mark Matthews reports:

They aren’t toasting yet, but Colorado beer-makers are abuzz about one piece of a tax package in Congress that would benefit brewers — especially the microbreweries that have become intrinsic to the state’s identity.

Under the Senate tax proposal, domestic breweries that produce less than 2 million barrels a year would see their taxes reduced from $7 to $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels they produce per year.

If the measure passes — and that’s still a big if — it would be a boon for Colorado’s nearly 350 breweries, the overwhelming majority of which fall into that category.

Notwithstanding the fact that there is nothing in the legislation to replace the lost revenue from this tax cut, or for that matter any more than a token amount of the large revenue losses projected from the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”–the latest CBO estimate is a mere 12% of the bill is paid for–you might have the notion that halving the tax on the first 60,000 barrels from your favorite local brewer would at least lighten the load on a six-pack by a commensurate amount.

Except no, sorry:

“We have never positioned this bill as a bill that would give better prices to consumers,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO of the Boulder-based Brewers Association. [Pols emphasis]

No discount for you, beer lovers: now brewer industry representatives cross-their-heart promise that they’re not going to pocket this extra money, but re-invest it–and the benefits will “trickle down” to beer consumers, much like a good craft brew itself within a couple hours of being drunk. Like so many of the tax breaks in this legislation, the losses in tax revenue are plain to see, while the benefits go to much smaller “targeted” groups of people opaque to everyone except the beneficiaries.

Who, unlike your average middle-class Joe Six Pack set to lose under this legislation, have really good lobbyists! So when you hear about the “beer tax break” at your local bar, and you probably will, let the boys know it’s not about the consumer side of the equation.