Connecticut gives craft brewers 16.7% tax break
The state”™s craft beer industry is getting a monetary break.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the newly enacted state budget he signed into law last month reduces taxes on beer by 16.7%.
The governor said that the tax decrease was included in the budget as part of his ongoing efforts to support the continued growth of Connecticut”™s craft brewery industry and the associated jobs it generates.
A report released in May by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Institute found that beer brewed in Connecticut yields $2.9 billion in economic output for the state and supports 17,892 jobs with professions ranging from careers in agriculture, manufacturing, and retail.
There are currently more than 120 operational breweries in Connecticut, with many more in planning.
“Connecticut”™s craft brewery industry has been booming in recent years and it is evidenced by the growth of hundreds of new jobs for our state”™s residents,” Lamont said. “We should be doing everything we can to support locally owned small businesses, including craft breweries. This reduction in taxes is another way we can support them.”
The tax reduction on beer is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2023. The changes are as follows:
| Current | New | |
| Barrel (31 gallons) | $7.20 | $6.00 |
| ½ Barrel | $3.60 | $3.00 |
| ¼ Barrel | $1.80 | $1.50 |
| Wine Gallon | $0.24 | $0.20 |
The state anticipates a $2 million revenue loss from the tax decrease.
The tax reduction comes on top of a comprehensive package of reforms that Lamont signed into law in 2019 that were designed to support growth in the craft brewery industry. That package:
- Updated Connecticut”™s outdated blue laws by increasing the amount of beer that breweries could sell to an adult for off-premise consumption from nine liters (about 1 case of 12-ounce cans) to nine gallons (about 4 cases of 12-ounce cans).
- Consolidated the four beer manufacturer permits ”“ beer, brewpub, beer and brewpub, and farm brewery ”“ into one permit, helping to streamline the administration of those permits and level the playing field within the industry.
- Created a Connecticut Craft Café permit, under which all manufacturing permit holders have the ability to sell all other types of alcohol in the state. (For example, wineries, cideries, and distilleries are now able to sell Connecticut craft beer.)
- Allowed craft breweries to hold multiple manufacturing permits so they can also make wine, cider, spirits, and mead all under one roof.