(1)
The additional beer taxes imposed under
RCW
66.24.290(3)(a) do not apply
to the first sixty thousand barrels of beer sold by a brewery in Washington
each fiscal year, if:
(a) The beer is
produced in the United States; and
(b) The producing brewery or domestic
brewery-brand owner meets the qualifications of 26 U.S.C. Sec.
5051
(a)(2).
(2) In order to
qualify for this exemption, the Washington brewer or the out-of-state beer
certificate of approval holder must provide the board a copy of an Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) acknowledged copy of their filing "Notice of
Brewer to Pay Reduced Rate of Tax" for the calendar year as required under 27
C.F.R. Sec.
25.167; a variance for any year that waives annual submission to
the TTB; or the Brewer's Notice which waives annual submission to the
TTB.
(3) The tax exemption will not
apply until the first day of the second month following the month the notice is
received (for example, if the notice is received by the Board on January 10,
the tax exemption will start on March 1).
(4) How will the distributor know what tax
rate to pay for each brewery's products?
(a)
The board will provide distributors a list of breweries that qualify for the
reduced tax rate; and
(b) The
qualifying brewery is responsible to inform the distributors when product sold
to distributors exceeds the first sixty thousand barrels exempted from the
additional tax.
(c) Once a
qualifying brewery's sales to distributors exceeds sixty thousand barrels, the
distributors must begin paying the full tax rate on their next monthly tax
report.
(5) Per
RCW
66.24.290, authorized representative
certificate of approval holders do not qualify for the reduced rate in
Washington state.
(6) The tax
exemption will not apply to strong beer. Strong beer must be paid at the higher
rate even when the brewery meets the qualifications for the reduced rate.
Strong beer is any malt beverage that contains more than eight percent alcohol
by weight.
