Senator Hassan Highlights Recent Extension of Craft Beer Tax Cuts at Rockingham Brewing Company in Derry

DERRY – In case you missed it, Senator Maggie Hassan highlighted the recent extension of the craft beverage tax cuts that help support local breweries during a visit to Rockingham Brewing Company yesterday. The Senator discussed her efforts to extend the craft beverage tax cut in the government funding bill for fiscal year 2020 – which is now law – and reaffirmed her commitment to making these tax cuts permanent. The Senator is a cosponsor of the bipartisan Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act – a bill that would permanently extend the reduction in excise taxes for craft breweries, while also cutting red tape and streamlining outdated, burdensome federal regulations that hold businesses back.

See below for coverage highlights:

Eagle Tribune: Derry brewery welcomes Hassan for tour

By Julie Huss

DERRY — Smaller craft beer operations in the area may get a financial boost thanks to an extension of a critical federal tax cut.

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan paid a visit Monday morning to Rockingham Brewing Company on Corporate Drive, touting the extension of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which will lower the excise tax from $7 down to $3.50 per barrel for brewers making less than 2 million barrels of beer every year.

Hassan, a Democrat, is also cosponsor of the Craft Beverage Modernization bill that would permanently extend the reduction in excise taxes for craft breweries while also cutting through red tape and streamlining outdated federal regulations that could hold back small breweries hoping to grow.

The tax cut was set to expire at the end of 2019, but with bipartisan support from Congress, President Donald Trump signed a one-year extension.

And that could add money to brewing operations like Rockingham.

For Rockingham co-owner Ali Leleszi, it's an opportunity to put more funding back in the business —  about $3,000 per year that could support hiring additional staff or for other business upgrades.

[…] "It means we can invest it back into our business," Leleszi said.

[…]  "There is bipartisan support for small businesses," the senator said, adding there is more bipartisanship happening in the nation's capital than is often noticed.

"That doesn't make the news," Hassan said. "It's important for people in New Hampshire to see people in D.C. working together."

Hassan said craft beer is an important industry in the state, bringing jobs but also boosting tourism. She said working in a bipartisan fashion in Washington also shows how important the small brewing companies are around the nation.

With the additional tax relief, Leleszi said Rockingham hopes to grow its staff. Right now there are five part-time staffers in addition to Leleszi and husband and co-owner Rob Leleszi.

[…]

Union Leader: Craft beer makers hope tax cut will be extended

By Ryan Lessard

DERRY — New Hampshire craft beer makers hope Congress will extend a reduction in the excise tax on craft beer sales and make it permanent, brewers told Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, on Monday.

Hassan visited Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry, where she met with brewery owners Ali and Rob Leleszi; Jenn “CJ” White, the executive director of the New Hampshire Brewers Association; and Jeff Cozzens, the association’s president and the CEO of Schilling Beer Company in Littleton.

[...] “The craft beverage tax cut extension that I helped get signed into law last year will help our breweries continue to grow, and I’m committed to working across the aisle to make these tax cuts permanent,” Hassan told the Union Leader.

Ali Leleszi told Hassan she estimates the tax cut helps Rockingham Brewing Co. save about $3,000 each year. While that may not be enough money to invest in new equipment — their brewing tanks alone cost about $150,000 — it could go toward hiring a sixth employee to help with some front-end coverage or events.

“We just put it right back in our business,” Leleszi said.

[…]

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