VICTORIA, BC – In a news release issued last Friday, the Government of British Columbia announced that it will be reducing the mark-up rate currently charged to small and regional breweries in the province, and will be making other changes to assist and support the financial health of the breweries.
According to the statement, the amount of money that breweries must pay the government on a per-litre basis will be dropping by approximately 25% on July 3rd. Breweries will also no longer be required to remit all sales revenue to the government before the mark-up is applied, a move that should improve cash flow for the companies.
In a CBC News report on the changes, John Yap, Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Policy Reform, noted that the government is looking at other ways it can reduce red tape for small breweries, including streamlining licensing processes.