Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King are hoping to ease the tax burden for craft beer brewers.
The bill introduced by Collins, a Republican, seeks to reduce the excise tax on barrels of beer brewed by small companies. King, an independent, is one of the original co-sponsors of the bill.
Collins says that reducing the tax burden on small brewers will allow them to ``thrive, create jobs and further grow'' the economy. King says that the measure would provide these companies a ``vital boost.''
Collins' office says that companies that produce fewer than 2 million barrels a year pay $7 in federal excise taxes for each barrel on the first 60,000 brewed barrels. The bill would lower that rate to $3.50 per barrel.