CO HB1306

Repeals the refund or credit for excise tax on alcohol beverages that become unsalable due to destruction or damage, effective January 1, 2021.

Only 98 of 525 alcohol beverage manufacturers and distributors (19%) claimed this refund or credit in 2017, receiving an average of $1,561 each.

Cites lack of oversight and undefined terms ("destruction" and "damage") as creating fraud risk, with limited department of revenue monitoring of actual destruction events.

Notes the administrative cost of claiming the refund often exceeds its value (for example, a full pallet of beer worth $19.84 in excise tax credit).

States the refund is redundant with commercial property insurance that typically covers product loss at retail value, which includes the excise tax amount.