Congress Agrees About… BEER!!!

With St. Patty's day right around the corner it's nice to know that right around the corner beer could be getting cheaper! If small breweries start to save money, we, the consumer just might save a little as well. There also may be more small breweries opening, because they can now afford to do their thing. This means MORE BEER!

From CNNMONEY.com:

Earlier this week, a Democrat joined with a Republican to introduce legislation in the Senate that would lower excise taxes on small breweries.

Currently, breweries pay a $7 dollar tax per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels they produce each year. The bill would drop that fee to $3.50, and for production in excess of 60,000 the tax would fall from $18 per barrel to $16.

The bill is called the Brewer's Employment and Excise Relief -- or BEER -- Act. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Mike Crapo of Idaho introduced the measure, and were joined by eight Republicans and nine Democrats who signed on as co-sponsors.

Kerry framed the bill as a way to help small breweries compete against the huge multinational companies that dominate the U.S. beer market.

"The craft beer revolution started right here in Massachusetts and they've been going toe to toe with multi-national beer companies ever since," Kerry said in a statement.

The small brewer federal tax rate was established in 1976 and has never been updated. Congress did considered similar legislation last year, but it was never enacted. It is much more promising this time around. Cheers to that!