Explanatory Notes and Limitations Specifically Applicable to Beer Taxes
1. APIS does not provide data for beer under 3.2% ABV or over 6% ABV.
2. APIS does not provide data on containers less than 10 ounces.
3. If tax rates vary by container size, APIS reports the tax rate on 12 ounce bottles.
4. A small number of States have different tax rates for small and large beer producers. In these cases, APIS includes only those taxes imposed on large producers, which are defined as those producing more than 60,000 barrels of beer per year.
Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to All Alcohol Beverages Taxes
1. The following taxes are not addressed by APIS:
· Taxes that apply specifically to flavored alcoholic beverages, wine coolers, fortified wine, champagne, cider, rice wine (sake), vermouth, and any other alcoholic beverage that does not meet the definition of an index beverage. These beverages may have separate tax rates, or jurisdictions may include them as part of another product category, such as beer, wine, or distilled spirits.
· Taxes that apply specifically to sales of cases.
· Taxes on the "use or storage" of otherwise untaxed alcoholic beverages by consumers. These taxes are designed to impose a tax on alcoholic beverages that do not enter a State through normal distribution channels.
· Exclusions, for example, exclusions of taxes on alcohol beverages sold at military establishments.
· Incentives, for example, tax credits to alcohol beverage wholesalers if those wholesalers make certain types of State-favored investments.
· Taxes on raw materials such as fruits used for the production of alcoholic beverages.
· Property taxes that may apply to alcohol beverage manufacturers, distributors, or retailers.
· Tax provisions applicable to sales on common carriers (e.g., air carriers, trains, commercial watercraft).
· Tax provisions applicable to alcoholic beverages used for religious, scientific, or medical purposes.
· Taxes on illicit alcohol beverage products (e.g., "homebrew" or "moonshine").
· Taxes on alcohol not intended for human consumption.
· Taxes on the sale of water, mixers, soft drinks, ice, or other items capable of being combined with alcoholic beverages to prepare a mixed drink.
2. APIS provides the sales tax rate only for those States in which: (1) a sales tax does not apply to an alcoholic beverage; and (2) an ad valorem excise tax does apply to that beverage.
3. APIS does not include statutory or regulatory provisions that provide a lower tax rate for the first, small amount of alcoholic beverage that a manufacturer produces in a given year, with a higher rate applicable to the rest of its alcoholic beverage production. The APIS database only includes the higher tax rate.
4. In cases where States have an alcohol tax that is derived from several statutes, the display reports the total as a single tax and provides citations to the underlying statutory provisions for review.
5. Taxes are not reported for States where the index beverage is wholly or partially sold in State-run retail stores or through State-run wholesalers. In these cases, the State sets a price that is some combination of cost, mark-up, and taxes. It is not possible to determine the dollar value assigned to each of these components. States where the index beverage is wholly or partially sold in State-run retail stores or through State-run wholesalers are called “Control States.” The remaining States and the District of Columbia are called “License States.”
6.
Some jurisdictions specify formulae for converting volumes from metric to English measures. APIS does not use these State-specific conversion formulae. Instead, APIS applies the standard formula used by the United States Tax and Trade Bureau ("
http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/convtbl.shtml"), which is 1 Liter = 0.264172 U.S. Gallon.
Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to All APIS Policy Topics
1. State law may permit local jurisdictions to impose requirements in addition to those mandated by State law. Alternatively, State law may prohibit local legislation on this topic, thereby preempting local powers. APIS does not document policies established by local governments.
2. In addition to statutes and regulations, judicial decisions (case law) also may affect alcohol-related policies. APIS does not review case law except to determine whether judicial decisions have invalidated statutes or regulations that would otherwise affect the data presented in the comparison tables.
3. APIS reviews published administrative regulations. However, administrative decisions or directives that are not included in a State's published regulatory codes may have an impact on implementation. This possibility has not been addressed by the APIS research.
4. Statutes and regulations cited in tables on this policy topic may have been amended or repealed after the specific date or time period specified by the site user's search criteria.
5. A comprehensive understanding of the data presented in the comparison tables for this policy topic requires examination of the applicable Row Notes and Jurisdiction Notes, which can be accessed from the body of the table via links in the Jurisdiction column.