Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/684435
16 WINES&VINES June 2016 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS W ashington, D.C.—A bill proposed by C a l i f o r n i a c o n - gressman and vine- y a r d o w n e r U . S . Re p . M i k e Thompson and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert of Washington state made a step forward May 12 to streamline and reduce excise taxes within the wine industry. A statement from Thompson's D.C. office said that H.R. 4934 was referred to the House Com- mittee on Ways and Means for further consideration. "In a Tax Policy Subcommittee hearing earlier today, a number of mem- bers voiced support for modern- izing alcohol excise taxes. As a senior member of the commit- tee, Rep. Thompson will con- tinue to advocate for his bill until the chairman brings up the legislation for the committee's c o n s i d e r a t i o n , " T h o m p s o n spokes woman Megan Rabbitt told Wines & Vines via email. H.R. 4934 has drawn most attention within the wine indus- try because it would slash the excise tax on sparkling wines from $3.40 per gallon to $1.70 per gallon, equal to the current tax on still wines. But the bill would also reduce the excise tax by 50 cents per gallon on many still wines with alcohol content higher than 14%. Since sparkling wine already requires more steps and costs in production, the excise tax has cre- ated an extra burden for producers and inhibited many small wineries across the country from adding sparkling wines to their portfolios. Eileen Crane, CEO and found- ing winemaker of 45,000-case Domaine Carneros in Napa, Calif., commented, "I'm ecstatic that Mike Thompson is taking this on." She added, "This is an incred- ible thing for a sparkling house. The sparkling wine tax is truly punitive. As a result, it is very hard to make a go of sparkling wine production. There are only about 20 sparkling wineries nationally producing over 2,000 cases. Com- pare that to the many thousands of still wine producers. And of those 20 sparkling houses, many have changed hands over the last 30 or so years, largely because of the tax in my opinion. "We sparkling producers have despaired of ever having anyone stand up for us because we are such a small contingency, but Mike has taken this on. Let's just make it right," she said. Not just for sparklers Michael Kaiser, director of public affairs for WineAmerica, the D.C.- based national trade association, posted his analysis online right after the bill was introduced. "Al- cohol excise taxes are a hot topic on Capitol Hill of late. This week we see another bill introduced TOP STORY U.S. Wine Tax Bill Inches Forward Rep. Mike Thompson Rep. Dave Reichert