Legislation To Regulate Hard Cider Introduced In House
September 4, 2013 U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) and Chris Collins (NY-27) recently introduced the Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation (CIDER) Act. The act will amend a portion of the tax code concerning wine and related beverages in order to provide hard cider producers flexibility in the final product without an increased tax liability.
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) introduced a similar measure in the Senate earlier this year. For more on Schumer’s legislation, click here.
“Congressmen Blumenauer and Collins took a critical first step towards making the United States hard cider industry more competitive internationally and treated more fairly under the tax code,” said Mike Beck, President of the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM) in a news release. “Our industry has tripled in size since 2007 and the existing tax structure is insufficient to deal with this growth. As a result, the potential to stunt this surge exists, and HR 2921 will remedy this problem. … Reps. Blumenauer and Collins deserve great credit for recognizing that America’s cider industry is primed for continued strong growth, and that we can increase our competitiveness in international markets and create jobs here in the United States if this legislation is enacted.”
Hard cider is classified by its composition and alcohol content, and depending upon the fermentation process the alcohol content and carbonation of hard cider can vary. Current federal classifies hard cider as a beverage not exceeding 7% alcohol by volume before it is considered a wine and a certain level of carbonation before it is taxed like a champagne. Like Sen. Schumer’s legislation, Reps. Blumenauer and Collins’ legislation widens what is definied as a hard cider by carbonation and sugar content and would include pear and apple cider to reduce the chance of improper taxation.
“Cider making is sometimes closer to an art than a science,” said Blumenauer in a news release. “As the American apple and pear hard cider industry becomes more prominent on the world stage and cider becomes a beverage choice for more Americans’ developing palettes, we need to ensure that cideries have every opportunity to expand and meet the needs of this growing market without an unfair tax burden.”
“I am proud to introduce legislation that will support our nation’s apple growers and cider makers,” said Collins in a news release. “This bill will help spur growth in the American apple industry by allowing it to be more competitive on an international level, and I thank Representative Blumenauer for joining me in this goal.”
“We are very pleased that Congressmen Blumenauer and Collins are working to assist cideries not only in our part of the country, but nationally as well,” said Sherrye Wyatt, Executive Director of the Northwest Cider Association in a news release, which represents cideries in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia. “These Main Street small businesses are ready to expand their capacity to keep up with strong demand, create jobs and become a key component of the country’s economic recovery. The changes proposed by Congressman Blumenauer and Collins will update the existing federal definition of cider to better reflect the industry and keep American cider competitive in the international marketplace. It’s an unprecedented time in the Northwest cider industry. We’re experiencing tremendous growth. We need to remove any barriers which may prevent cider from realizing its greatest potential. It’s time for cider to write a new chapter in history.”
“This legislation really is about updating the tax law to reflect the realities in today’s cider marketplace,” said Beck. “We are going to work hard with Reps. Blumenauer and Collins to educate other members about this legislation and our industry’s needs so that we can increase our competitiveness, grow our industry and create more jobs. We are hopeful that a Senate companion bill will be introduced soon, and that this legislative change will be made part of any tax legislation that is considered by the Congress.”
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