The Kentucky General Assembly has passed House Bill 5 to remove the state's tax on aging barrels of spirits.

 

The Kentucky General Assembly has passed House Bill 5 to remove the state's tax on aging barrels of spirits.  

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) describes the tax as discriminatory, as it is the only one of its kind in the world, and distillers have been paying it for over 50 years.

  • The bill is a “common-sense compromise” that balances the need to fund schools, emergency services, and other local government entities with the distilling industry's interests.
  • The KDA says the move provides distillers equal treatment to other manufacturing industries not taxed during production.
  • The KDA hopes Governor Andy Beshear will sign the bill into law and create good-paying local jobs while attracting millions of tourists worldwide.
  • Despite the relief, the KDA warns that distilling remains Kentucky's highest-taxed industry, paying $286 million in taxes annually.
  • The Kentucky Bourbon industry generates $9B each year for the state's economy and sustains more than 22,500 jobs with an annual payroll topping $1.2 billion a year, the KDA said.

  • Visitor numbers to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail surpassed two million for the first time last year.

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