Tax Saving Legislation for Wineries Passes in New York
2 minute
06/05/2012
Farm wineries on the East End, raise a glass! New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. praised Governor Andrew Cuomo for adopting Thiele’s A.1788, which would exempt farm wineries from a burdensome tax filing requirement, as part of the Governor’s 2012 Legislative Program. The new Legislation passed unanimously in the New York State Assembly this week.
Under the old State law, all beer, wine, and liquor wholesalers are required to report sales made to restaurants, bars and other retailers to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Farm wineries were included within the definition of a wholesaler required to report. Thiele’s legislation, which has been made part of the Governor’s program bill promoting craft breweries as well as farm wineries, will exempt farm wineries from this costly and burdensome paperwork requirement.
Thiele stated, “Farm wineries are small and mostly family operations that have struggled to comply with this needless filing requirement. The burden and cost on business far outweighs any benefit to the State. There are other ways that the State Tax Department can obtain this information. In particular, this legislation will benefit the farm winery operations on the East End. Our wineries can better use their time to grow their businesses and promote their product rather than filling out costly paperwork.
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