WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced a new plan to boost the sales for New York’s over 20 existing hard apple cider producers and allow the over 650 apple growers to expand their business and add this increasingly popular craft beverage to their product line. Schumer explained that the alcohol content of New York’s hard cider fluctuates greatly due to sugar content, and current law often forces it to be taxed at a higher rate, preventing it from being labeled as hard cider. Compliance adds a significant financial burden to producers and consumers, and an unpredictable nature to the business, which makes it less attractive for potential new cider producers. Schumer therefore launched his proposal, the CIDER Act (Cider, Investment & Development through Excise Tax Reduction Act), to modernize the definition for hard apple and pear cider in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that would increase their allowed alcohol by volume from 7 percent to 8.5 percent, encompassing significantly more hard cider products and allowing them to be labeled and taxed like hard cider, rather than wine.

Schumer’s proposal would also address existing tax issues related to carbonation levels in hard cider, and would put the new definition in line with that of the European Union, so producers can better compete with European products abroad. Hard cider is a value-added product that is sold around the same price every year; therefore hard cider gives producers a stable source of income when apple crops suffer due to weather and other unforeseen factors. New York apple producers are increasingly interested in producing smaller, artisanal batches of hard cider, but cite the cost and difficulty to comply with the IRC definition as significant impediments to expanding their businesses.

“New York is the second largest apple producer in the country, and there’s no doubt it should be at the core of the hard cider industry, which is rapidly growing in popularity,” said Schumer. “However, current federal tax rules make it extremely costly for producers and consumers alike to produce, market and sell this product, which could prevent New York’s hundreds of apple growers and hard cider producers from fully benefiting from the stable income that comes with this new product. That is why I’m pushing a plan that will modernize the definition of hard cider in the federal tax code, to ensure that all products can be labeled and taxed for what they actually are, all while increasing New York cider producers’ ability to compete overseas.

New York is the second largest apple producer nationwide, harvesting a total of 29.5 million bushels annually from over 650 farms and 41,000 acres across the state.