Congress Reintroduces the CIDER Act (we like them apples)

Brewer-turned-cider-maker Brad Page, the founder of Colorado Cider Co., shows off his signature cider.

First off, let’s both learn the difference between an Act and a Bill together. Secondly, we’ve got a couple of good Acts floating around congress, and we feel this is good progress (if we can use those terms sequentially when considering the U.S. Senate and House). During the first week of the 114th Congress, a rare Republican and Democrat partnership reintroduced the Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act (Small BREW Act) in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation was reintroduced by Representatives Erik Paulsen (R-Mn.) and Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.). We tip our pints to those two.

Last week, another Republican/Democrat combo introduced the bipartisan Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation (CIDER) Act. Wow. Maybe we should all learn what bipartisan means too. Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03) and Chris Collins (R-NY-27) introduced the CIDER Act. The Act, HR 600, would amend the section of the tax code that deals with wine and related beverages, 26 USC § 5041, to support the growing number of craft and entrepreneurial cider makers, and tailor IRS rules to reflect variations in craft ciders across the country. It was first introduced into the House in 2013.

Let’s break down how alcoholic cider is a unique beverage — both in product and taxes. During the fermentation process, a variety of factors can lead to small changes in the composition of a cider’s alcohol content and carbonation. Because of the narrow way that hard cider is currently defined in the tax code, these small variations can lead to cider being taxed at a rate 15 times higher than what the statute clearly intended. The Blumenauer-Collins bill would update the tax definitions to greatly reduce the chance that improper taxation could occur. The bill would also broaden the definition to include both pear and apple ciders. Let’s throw the mic over to these cider-loving patriots (from the press release):

“Cider making is sometimes closer to an art than a science,” said Blumenauer. “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. “The CIDER Act will help spur growth in these industries by restructuring taxes to fairer rates that take into account the natural variations in the cider making process. I thank Representative Blumenauer for joining me in this goal to reduce burdens on small businesses and simplify our tax code” said Congressman Chris Collins.

“Confusing regulations and contradictory enforcement of rules is the name of the game for startup and experienced cidermakers alike,” said Nat West, owner of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider in Portland. “The cider industry is growing astoundingly fast, with Oregon and the Northwest being a hotbed. With clear regulations and a tax structure that mirrors the real world of this agricultural product, we will expand quickly and make ciders that people want to drink.”

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. Production nationally has been robust, more than tripling from 9.4 million gallons in 2011 to 32 million gallons in 2013. Cider revenues in the U.S. have been just as impressive, tripling from $178 million in 2007 to $601 million in 2012. Looking to learn more? Rep. Blumenauer will be addressing the 2015 Cider Convention on Feb. 6 in Chicago.