Salisbury/Fayetteville — Congressmen Richard Hudson (NC-08) and Ted Budd (NC-13) met with business owners at New Sarum Brewing Company in Salisbury on Tuesday. The stop is part of a tour to talk about legislative priorities and the recent federal tax cut package. In the package, Congress cut the federal excise tax for breweries making less that 2 million barrels per year.
“Our smaller local breweries are huge economic drivers,” said Hudson. “This tax cut will make it easier for them to buy new equipment, expand, hire more people and continue to invest in our community.”
In the new tax cut package, for the first 60,000 barrels, craft breweries will pay 50 percent less than before; $3.50 per barrel instead of $7. Some industry experts estimate this provision alone could create an additional $320 million in growth. N.C. has the largest brewpub presence in the South with 245 establishments.
Nationwide, independent American craft brewers contributed $67.8 billion and more than 456,000 full-time equivalent jobs to the U.S. economy in 2016.
Before the stop in Salisbury, Hudson first traveled to Fayetteville on Monday to meet with employees at Lowe’s Home Improvement on Good Middling Drive because Lowe’s is one of nearly 400 American businesses to announce employee bonuses and expanded benefits because of the historic tax overhaul.
Earlier this month, Lowe’s also announced expanded paid maternity and parental leave, and adoption assistance benefits.
After filing for re-election last week, Budd said in a press release “the results speak for themselves” highlighting his “yes” vote on the tax cut package and his “no” vote on the recent spending bill.
Last month, Budd also introduced the Working Families Relief Act, which would further increase the child tax credit for working parents, allowing them to receive a $2,000 refund from payroll taxes.
“Today’s children are tomorrow’s taxpayers and entrepreneurs, and as lawmakers we should make it easier, not harder, to be parents,” said Budd.
Hudson also filed for re-election last week and launched the tour of his district to talk about the successes of the tax package and his work to improve conditions and support for service members. Fort Bragg is within District 8. Last week, Hudson also introduced the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act (H.R. 5041).
“Making sure unused drugs don’t end up in the wrong hands is one of the biggest problems we face in fighting the opioid crisis,” said Hudson.
The bipartisan plan is intended to prevent the misuse of unused medications by equipping hospice professionals with the legal authority to safely dispose of unused drugs.
