Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 4, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 5 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Siracusa Moving & Storage | New Britain, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as Design Builder for the construction of a new moving and storage facility. Construction included sitework, concrete, millwork, rough carpentry, insulation, roofi ng, steel erection, HVAC and MEP work. Project Features: • 40' eve height for storage purposes • Front offi ces • Several overhead bays Total Project Size: 60,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: C PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD As a plan sponsor, don't let your fiduciary responsibility get hung up solely on fees. Our ar cle on benchmarking can help you discover why periodically reviewing your plans is an important step to take to ensure they con nue to be relevant to your company and its employees. Let our experts show you how your defined contribu on plan ranks against similar plans with a FREE benchmarking report. Learn more at hhconsultants.com/benchmarking DOES YOUR COMPANY'S RETIREMENT PLAN STACK UP? Industry beaming over Lamont's proposed tax cut for breweries By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com F or a proposed state budget that could generate hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in new revenues, one industry that may see a tax cut under Gov. Ned Lamont›s two-year spending plan is craft breweries. Among the many tax changes, the Democratic governor's $43 billion state budget reduces the state's alcohol excise tax at craft breweries by 50 percent. While breweries and other pur- veyors of beer are subject to paying traditional sales tax, they are also required to pay an alcohol excise tax of 24 cents per gallon of beer sold, or $7.20 per barrel (typically 31 gallons). The existing excise tax excludes sales to licensed distributors. Lamont's budget would cut the current excise tax rate in half for breweries to 12 cents per gallon, handing a major victory to the state's growing craft beer industry. In fiscal year 2018, more than 47.7 million gallons of beer were produced in Connecticut, which generated $11.4 million in alcohol excise tax revenues for the state, according to the Con- necticut Department of Revenue Services' latest annual report. Phil Pappas, executive director of the Connecticut Brewers Guild, which represents 55 of the state's 80- plus operating breweries, applauded Lamont for proposing the "pro-jobs, pro-consumer measure." "As the budget process moves for- ward, we will continue working with the governor, state lawmakers and our industry partners — including distributors, restaurants and retailers — to modernize our state's alcohol laws by making them more consum- er-friendly and business-friendly," Pappas said in a statement. The guild, which also has 11 associ- ate members and represents four breweries in planning, also supports decreasing the excise tax for other purveyors of beer. Chris Willett, co-founder and head brewer at Milford Point Brewing Co., said his brewery is one of many in the state that will be more likely to hire new workers as a result of the tax-cut proposal. Officials from Hartford Distribu- tors Inc. also told Hartford Business Journal they support the governor's proposal to slash the state's excise tax for breweries. The lower brewery tax also drew praise from Carroll J. Hughes, a lob- byist and executive director of the Connecticut Package Stores Associa- tion. However, he would also like to see the measure extended to local producers of wine and spirits. Lamont's brewery-friendly pitch surfaces as the state's brewery industry has grown rapidly in recent years. Local brewery growth has ranked among the top 10 nationally, driving the state's beer market into a $745.7 million industry in 2017, ac- cording to the Brewers Association, which represents over 70 breweries in Connecticut. Lamont's proposal also contrasts with several bills that were raised earlier this year that drew the ire of craft brewers, including a measure that would have disallowed breweries from offering both on-site and off-site sales, which would have forced tap- rooms across the state to close. Those bills were quickly pulled from consideration. While the lower tax for brewer- ies would drum up savings for local beer producers, Lamont's budget would add dozens of items and ser- vices to the state's 6.35 percent sales tax in an effort to raise $797 million in new tax revenues over the next two fiscal years. Local beer makers including Stony Creek Brewery would benefit from Gov. Lamont's proposal to reduce the alcohol excise tax. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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