Congress gave distillers a reprieve Thursday by voting to extend critical tax breaks to the spirits industry for one year. By passing one of two remaining spending packages by a vote of 71-23, senators affirmed a vote their House colleagues took Tuesday to let the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019 (CBMTRA) contained within it sunset on December 31, 2020, instead of at the end of this year as previously determined by the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. It headed to the president’s desk Thursday for his expected signature Friday.
For Scott Harris, co-founder of the ten-year-old Catoctin Creek Distillery in Northern Virginia, failure to pass FET reform would have meant potentially reducing employees and shifts in production. Now, he plans to add equipment and 1.5 to 2 sales positions this year.
