B.C. government says tax break will help small craft breweries expand

VICTORIA – The B.C. government has approved a tax break that it says will allow smaller breweries to expand without paying the full taxes that major beer producers face.

The change comes after Prince-George-based Pacific Western Brewing said it might lay off staff or even close instead of pay the increased taxes that would result from higher production levels.

Under the old policy, a higher tax rate kicked in when a brewery produced 160,000 hectolitres of beer — each hectolitre being 100 litres of beer.

Deputy Premier Rich Coleman says under the new policy, breweries can produce up to 300,000 hectolitres of beer and still qualify for a favourable tax rate, which rises on a sliding scale depending on the amount of beer produced.

Coleman says the change will help seven B.C. craft breweries to expand and create local jobs.

Questions were raised about the tax issue last week after a Liberal fundraising auction in Coleman’s Langley riding included two trips to the Bahamas donated by the president of Pacific Western Brewing.