Bill seeks to brew up business

PONDERAY - Half an employee.

That's what a proposed bipartisan tax relief bill would mean for Fred Colby, founder and co-owner of Laughing Dog Brewery.

"It'd be huge for us," Colby said of the bill's potential impact.

Colby told Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who was in town Monday to discuss the legislation, it would save him $6,000-$7,000 a year - and more as his brewery continues to grow.

"Right now, that's about half an employee's salary. Next year, as we grow, it means I'd be able to bring another employee on board."

Crapo, who co-sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the bill would cut the federal excise tax from $7 per barrel to $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels produced. For each additional barrel, SB3339 would drop the tax from $18 per barrel to $16 up to 2 million barrels.

Crapo, one of the bill's four co-sponsors, stopped by the Ponderay brewery to visit with Colby and area agricultural leaders to discuss the legislation. Co-sponsoring the bill, which could cut the federal excise paid by smaller, craft breweries, were Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Olympia Snow, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

After receiving a petition seeking support, Crapo looked into the matter and said Monday that signing on to co-sponsor the bill was an easy call and makes solid business sense.

"It would mean a lot of these businesses," Crapo said. "It will help them grow and hire employees. Everyone would benefit."

It wouldn't just help the state's craft brewers - Laughing Dog is one of two Idaho-based commercial breweries in addition to Grand Teton Brewing Co. in southern Idaho - it would also help the state's hops producers. As the craft brewers are able to hire more workers and brew more beer, they will need to buy more hops, Crapo said.

Since launching the brewery with partner Michelle Douglass five years ago, Laughing Dog has grown from a local product to one that's found in 22 states and counting. Colby said he has even heard reports the beer is being bootlegged into Stockholm, Sweden, to a bar in that country.

Paying less excise tax would help the brewery continue to grow, Colby told Crapo.

"All the brewers are talking about how this would be good for all of us," he said.