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Committee considers small-brewer filing relief; author offers alternate amendment
Summary
House File 2,745 would reduce monthly tax-filing burdens for very small brewers. Representative Stevenson said his bill would remove monthly filing obligations for brewers that never have tax liability; an alternate DE1 converting the credit to an exemption was discussed and withdrawn for further conversation. The bill was laid over.
The House Taxes Committee heard House File 2,745 on April 2, a bill from Representative Stevenson intended to reduce monthly filing obligations for small brewers who never incur tax liability because of an existing small-brewer credit.
Representative Stevenson told the committee that the current law, enacted in 1985, requires monthly filings even for brewers whose tax liability is eliminated by the credit, creating an administrative burden for very small manufacturers. "The underlying bill tries to eliminate that burden by just saying, if you don't owe any taxes, you don't have to file monthly," Representative Stevenson said.
Representative Stevenson also presented a DE1 author's amendment as an alternate approach: converting the credit to an exemption so small brewers would not be required to file monthly. He indicated the amendment was offered for discussion then withdrawn so the committee could consider options. "It makes it so that a small brewer wouldn't have to file on a monthly basis," Stevenson said of the DE1; he later withdrew the amendment for further negotiation.
Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, testified in support and described the relief as a paperwork reduction for small manufacturers: "We not only understand, but we fully support playing our part, paying our taxes. We simply are looking for ways that we can streamline our processes," Galligan said.
Members expressed bipartisan support for reducing paperwork burdens on small businesses; Representative Johnson, speaking as a business owner, said the change would reduce an unnecessary administrative burden. Representative Stevenson withdrew the DE1 and the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus taxes bill.
Ending
Committee members said the proposal merits further work with department staff and stakeholders and the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the 2025 taxes package.
