Beer Institute poll: 68% of Americans support extending tax relief for all brewers and beer importers

Today, the Beer Institute released the results of its latest nationwide poll, finding 68 percent of American voters want Congress to continue federal excise tax relief for all of our nation’s more than 7,000 brewers and beer importers. This backing extends across all political ideologies, with the majority of conservative, moderate and liberal American voters wanting Congress to maintain tax relief for brewers and beer importers.

“Brewers and beer importers know beer unites Americans from across the political spectrum,” said Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of the Beer Institute. “In 2017, Congress demonstrated a broad vision for tax reform when it passed two years of federal excise tax relief for all brewers and beer importers. Today, America’s beer industry is investing in businesses and supporting more than 2.1 million American jobs. Now is the time for Congress to extend this tax relief before the end of the year so the beer industry can continue to innovate, invest in their businesses and provide good-paying jobs in communities across the country.”

Breaking down the poll, it found:

• Support for extending tax relief cuts across the ideological spectrum, with 75 percent of conservative voters, 63 percent of moderate voters and 66 percent of liberal voters supporting Congress extending federal excise tax relief to brewers and beer importers.
• Younger voters aged 21 to 38 years old are particularly supportive of Congress continuing to provide this tax relief, with 74 percent of these voters wanting Congress to extend tax relief for brewers and importers. This support includes 81 percent of young conservative voters, 68 percent of young moderate voters and 71 percent of young liberal voters wanting Congress to extend this tax relief.

A record number of members of Congress have cosponsored the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (S. 362/H.R. 1175), with 321 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 74 U.S. Senators supporting the legislation. Introduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI) and Mike Kelly (R-PA), this commonsense legislation would make the excise tax relief for brewers and beer importers contained in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. In June, the House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation to extend the tax relief for one year. In August, the Senate Individual, Excise and Other Temporary Tax Policy Task Force recommended enacting tax relief for brewers and beer importers “on a permanent basis.”

Without congressional action, America’s beer industry will face a more than $100 million tax increase on January 1, 2020. Large and regional brewers will see their excise tax payments go up by an average of 4 percent while 99 percent of U.S. breweries will see their excise taxes double.

The nationwide survey, by Quadrant Strategies, was conducted from November 7 to November 8, on behalf of the Beer Institute. The survey was conducted online to 1,000 registered American voters, age 21 years old and older.