Alcoholic Beverage Tax: beer manufacturer returns and schedules.

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law, administered by the State Board of Equalization, imposes an excise tax upon all beer and wine sold in this state, as provided, on beer manufacturers, winegrowers, importers, or sellers of beer or wine that sell beer or wine on which no tax has been paid. Existing law requires beer manufacturers to include specified schedules in their return, and prohibits the board, or any employee of the board, from making known in any manner certain information that is contained in a beer manufacturer's return or schedules. This bill, for beer manufacturer returns filed on or after January 1, 2024, would require the board, upon request, to make public the names and addresses of taxpayers filing a beer manufacturer return, as well as any information in a beer manufacturer return and schedules. The bill would make an exception to the requirement for disclosure of names and addresses in the case of taxpayers that are natural persons. The bill would allow a taxpayer to elect to prohibit the disclosure of any information contained in that taxpayer's beer manufacturer return and schedules. The bill would require the board to amend the beer manufacturer return form to include a designated line or checkbox where the taxpayer may elect to prohibit disclosure, and a brief description of how the beer industry has historically used information contained in beer manufacturer returns.