II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 807 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform and reset the 

excise tax on beer, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2015 

Mr. BLUNT (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KIRK, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

JOHNSON, Mr. BENNET, Mr. VITTER, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform 

and reset the excise tax on beer, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Brewers Excise 

5 and Economic Relief Act’’ or the ‘‘Fair BEER Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RATE OF TAX ON BEER. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 5051(a) 

8 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

9 as follows: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 807 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A tax is hereby imposed on 

2 all beer brewed or produced, and removed for con3 sumption or sale, within the United States, or im4 ported into the United States during the calendar 

5 year. Such tax shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) $0 on so much of such beer as does 

7 not exceed 7,143 barrels, 

8 ‘‘(B) $3.50 per barrel on so much of such 

9 beer as exceeds 7,143 barrels but does not ex10 ceed 60,000 barrels, 

11 ‘‘(C) $16 per barrel on so much of such 

12 beer as exceeds 60,000 barrels but does not ex13 ceed 2,000,000 barrels, and 

14 ‘‘(D) $18 per barrel on so much of such 

15 beer as exceeds 2,000,000 barrels. 

16 Such tax shall be imposed with respect to every bar17 rel containing not more than 31 gallons and at a 

18 like rate for any other quantity or for fractional 

19 parts of a barrel.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (2) of 

21 section 5051(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(2) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—In the case of a 

24 controlled group, the barrel quantities specified in 

25 paragraph (1) shall be apportioned among the brewVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Mar 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S807.IS S807

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 807 IS

1 ers who are component members of such group in 

2 such manner as the Secretary shall by regulations 

3 prescribed. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 

4 the term ‘controlled group’ has the meaning as5 signed to it by subsection (a) of section 1563, except 

6 that for such purposes the phrase ‘more than 50 

7 percent’ shall be substituted for the phrase ‘at least 

8 80 percent’ in each place it appears in such sub9 section. Under regulations prescribed by the Sec10 retary or his delegate, principles similar to the prin11 ciples of the preceding two sentences shall be applied 

12 to a group of brewers under common control where 

13 one or more of the brewers is not a corporation.’’. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to beer removed during calendar 

16 years beginning after December 31, 2015. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS