McConnell, Paul offer bill to cement tax provision benefiting bourbon makers

Kentucky’s two Republican senators offered a bill this week to permanently extend a provision in President Trump’s tax-cut law that benefits bourbon makers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul said their legislation, introduced Wednesday, will help bourbon producers create more jobs.

“The legislation I introduced today with Senator Paul would not only keep Kentucky’s bourbon industry on a level playing field with its competitors, but would also help create jobs and provide a boost to Kentucky’s economy,” McConnell said in a statement.{mosads}

The tax law Trump signed in December 2017 provided tax relief for brewers, distillers and winemakers, but that section of the law is set to expire at the end of 2019.

One portion of the tax relief for the alcohol industry allows bourbon makers to deduct interest expenses related to inventories in the year they are paid. McConnell and Paul’s bill would make this change permanent.

A press release from the senators said that before the change was made, bourbon makers couldn’t deduct their interest expenses until bourbon was bottled and sold, which could be years after aging.

“The Advancing Growth in the Economy through Distilled Spirits Act will preserve Kentucky’s signature Bourbon industry by boosting job creation and maintaining a level playing field between Bourbon and whiskey producers at home and their competitors abroad,” Paul said.