An Act To Strengthen the Craft Distillery Industry in Maine
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §1651, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read:
D. For spirits purchased by the State from a small distillery that distilled the spirits in the State using state-grown products, not including water, as a majority of the spirits' substrate, the tax under this subsection may not exceed 18% of the price of the spirits that the State pays to the small distillery. For purposes of this paragraph, "substrate" means a fermentable sugary mixture from which alcohol or spirits are distilled through reaction with an enzyme.
summary
This bill caps the tax the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, State Liquor and Lottery Commission may levy on spirits produced by a distillery in the State that distills 50,000 gallons per year or less at no more than 18% of the price the State pays the distillery for the spirits. The bill requires that the distillery must use state-grown products, not including water, as a majority of the spirits' substrate, which is the sugary mixture from which alcohol or spirits are distilled.