• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact us
  • Wine of the Week newsletter
  • Wine submission guidelines
Great Northwest Wine

Great Northwest Wine

News, reviews and info about the wines of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho

  • Home
  • Subscribe to GNWW The Magazine
  • Explore
    • Wine news
    • Grapes and viticulture
    • Washington wine
    • Oregon wine
    • Idaho wine
    • British Columbia wine
    • Product reviews
    • Recipes
    • Wine Adventures
    • Podcast
  • Reviews
    • Latest wine reviews
    • Wine of the Week
    • Best Buys
    • Washington wines
    • Oregon wines
    • Idaho wines
    • British Columbia wines
  • Events calendar
    • Submit an event
  • Competitions
    • Cascadia International Wine Competition
    • Idaho Wine & Cider Competition
    • “The Invite” – Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition
    • Platinum Awards
    • Walla Walla Valley Wine Competition
    • Washington State Wine Competition
  • About us
    • Awards and honors
    • Advertising on Great Northwest Wine
    • Wine submission guidelines
  • e-edition

Tax relief bill for small Washington wineries moves along

February 16, 2017 by John Stang Leave a Comment

Josh McDonald of the Washington Wine Institute, and Seattle attorney Paul Beveridge, owner/winemaker of Wilridge Winery in Yakima, testify in support of House Bill 5427, which would eliminate the state wine tax imposed on wineries that produce less than 8,000 cases.
Josh McDonald of the Washington Wine Institute, and Seattle attorney Paul Beveridge, owner/winemaker of Wilridge Winery in Yakima, testify in support of Senate Bill 5427, which would eliminate the state wine tax imposed on wineries that produce less than 8,000 cases. (Photo by John Stang/Special to Great Northwest Wine)

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A bill is in motion to make small Washington wineries exempt from paying the Evergreen State’s wine tax.

Senate Bill 5427 by Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, went to a public hearing Thursday in front of the Washington Senate’s Agriculture, Water, Trade & Economic Development Committee.

Currently, wine producers are taxed at a rate of almost 23 cents a liter for table wines and a little more than 45 cents a liter for fortified wine. Warnick’s bill would remove the tax on the first 20,000 gallons that a winery produces annually. That equates to about 8,400 cases of wine.

If the bill becomes law, the tax break would cost the state about $2 million each year.

Washington wineries pay one of the higher tax rates in the nation, testified Josh McDonald, executive director of the Washington Wine Institute.

Seattle attorney Paul Beveridge, owner of Wilridge Winery, said such a break would eliminate the wine tax for roughly 80 percent of the state’s wineries.

“Wineries are one of the small businesses in Washington that don’t get any tax relief,” he said.

Despite the overall number of Washington wineries growing, at least 20 small wineries have shut down since the Great Recession of 2008, with the state wine taxes becoming a significant burden on small wineries, Beveridge estimated.

Beveridge tried to get exact numbers of wineries that have gone out of business, but said the Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Board could not provide him the figures.

Bills on charities, credit card fees at wineries gain hearings

Paddles are raised during the Winemaker Gala, which is the signature event for the Auction of Washington Wines in Woodinville. (Photo by Richard Duval Images)

Also in the past couple weeks in Olympia:

• A public hearing was held by the House Commerce & Gaming Committee on House Bill 1718 to make it easier for wineries to participate in private auctions for charities and to promote the state’s wine industry.

Right now, when private auctions are held, each participating winery must fill out paperwork and pay a $25 fee to the state Liquor & Cannabis Board. That can get complicated and unwieldy if 70 wineries are participating, bill sponsor Rep. Bill Jenkin, R-Prosser, said at a hearing last week. Jenkin also owns the Prosser Vineyards & Winery.

His bill would change that requirement. Only the nonprofit organization staging the private auction would be required to fill out the permit and pay the $27 fee to the state.

“It has become a bit cumbersome and time-consuming,” said Martine Kulesa, development coordinator for Auction of Washington Wines about the current permit system.

The Auction of Washington Wines is a nonprofit organization that stages funding-raising auctions for Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Washington State University viticulture program.

Grocers, restaurants and private collectors buy the wines at its auctions — which are also marketing Washington wines to out-of-state buyers.

“These private auctions promote Washington’s wine across the country,” Jenkin said.

• The same committee held a public hearing on House Bill 1893 by Rep. Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver, that would allow a licensed distributor of spirits or wine to impose a credit card fee on a purchaser licensed to sell spirits or wine.

A distributor’s small profit margin, coupled with swallowing an reimbursed credit card fee, is what prompted the bill, Vick said.

The Washington Hospitality Association and the Washington Beer & Wine Distributors Association supported the bill.

Save

Save

Save

Filed Under: News, Washington wine Tagged With: featured, ticker

About John Stang

John Stang is a longtime journalist who covers Washington state politics. He lives in the Seattle area.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Wine of the Week

Liquid Light Wines 2022 Chardonnay, Washington State $16

November 28, 2023

Latest Wine Reviews

Bells Up Winery 2020 Zenith Vineyard Candide Reserve Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills $54

Argyle Winery 2019 Vintage Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine, Willamette Valley $30

Lagrioth Winery 2022 Estate Chardonnay, Lake Chelan $36

Waterbrook Winery 2021 Vintner’s Selection Red Blend Columbia Valley, $19.99

Chehalem Wines 2019 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge $70

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2019 SS Fortuna Petit Verdot, Horse Heaven Hills $45

Love & Squalor 2016 Reserve Riesling, Willamette Valley $28

Wine Cruises & Safaris

National Geographic partners with Food & Wine magazine for 2024 wine cruise series on Columbia, Snake rivers

Cruising the Rhine and Moselle with Wit Cellars

Footer

Grapes

Airfield Estates Winery soars with Sauvignon Blanc from Yakima Valley

VineLines Dispatch gallery: ‘I go where they grow’ as 2023 harvest begins

My long, strange trip with Viognier

British Columbia wine industry prepares for widespread replanting

May’s heat pushes much of Northwest wine country ahead of hot 2015 vintage

Food

Match Maker: Caprio Cellars delectably achieves perfection in Walla Walla

Recipe: Prawn and Sausage Orecchiette

Recipe: Tomato Peach Gazpacho

Wine, wine cocktails, good spirit pour out at Iris Vineyards Wine Bar

Match Maker: King Estate Winery rising stars combine for elevated restaurant experience

History

Dennis Murphy of Caprio Cellars acquires Figgins shares in Seven Hills Vineyard

Washington wine leaders back HistoryLunch in Seattle

Love at first sip, thanks to Wente Vineyards

Merit, heritage surround helpful Meritage concept

L’Ecole N° 41 Winery develops lesson plan in history for Walla Walla

© 2023 Great NW Wine. All Rights Reserved.