The county gets about $8.6 million a year from the barrel tax, he said. “That got their attention, let’s put it that way,” Hutchins said. Soon, any new projects will be required to seek citizen input and zoning board approval, Judge Executive Timothy Hutchins said. Nelson County, home to Heaven Hill, Log Still and other Kentucky communities involved with the industry, recently approved a moratorium on new bourbon warehouse construction while the county updates zoning and permitting rules. He said Bullitt County does not want any new barrelhouses unless things change, and he is not alone. Officials like Summers are calling that a bluff. In lobbying for the end of the tax, the distillers’ group suggested the industry could leave Kentucky.
Jim Beam is owned by Japan-based Beam Suntory. Now many of the most recognized brands are part of international beverage conglomerates. During the same period, the super premium segment rose more than 20-fold to $1.3 billion. American whiskey revenues since 2003 have nearly quadrupled, reaching $5.1 billion last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. With small batch products, the liquor slowly became cool. While the tax changes take place, whiskey is booming.Īs a former Beam executive, Summers remembers a time when whiskey was a cheap, "bottom shelf" drink. “Even with this relief, distilling remains Kentucky’s highest taxed industry, paying $286 million in taxes each year,” Gregory said in an email.
Another tax helps fire and emergency management services, though it does not apply in all counties. Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory noted the compromise bill creates a new excise tax to help fund school districts. I know there are, right now, probably some difficult feelings," Beshear said in a news conference. At the same time, you've got communities that have helped build that industry. You had an industry that supports so many jobs and calls Kentucky home. Andy Beshear, who signed the bill after passage by Kentucky's Republican-controlled legislature, said several industry compromises were vital to his support, while the bill will encourage investment. “Where you have an alcohol-based plant that produces a hazardous material, you need emergency management, EMS, a sheriff’s department,” he said.ĭemocratic Gov. The county will still have to provide them with services, protect them and protect the surrounding community from them if anything goes wrong, Summers said. Once the barrel tax sunsets in 2043, the distillers will pay no taxes at all to Bullitt on some warehouses. “Our industry was always a handshake agreement,” Summers said.
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