0001| AN ACT | 0002| RELATING TO TAXATION; IMPOSING THE LIQUOR EXCISE TAX ON ALCOHOLIC CIDER. | 0003| | 0004| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0005| Section 1. Section 7-17-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1966, Chapter 49, | 0006| Section 2, as amended by Laws 1995, Chapter 70, Section 18 and also by | 0007| Laws 1995, Chapter 74, Section 1) is amended to read: | 0008| "7-17-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Liquor Excise Tax Act: | 0009| A. "alcoholic beverages" means distilled or rectified | 0010| spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin and aromatic bitters | 0011| or any similar alcoholic beverage, including blended or fermented | 0012| beverages, dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing | 0013| containing more than one-half of one percent alcohol, but excluding | 0014| medicinal bitters: | 0015| (1) "spirituous liquors" means alcoholic beverages | 0016| except fermented beverages such as wine, beer, cider and ale; | 0017| (2) "beer" means any alcoholic beverage obtained by | 0018| the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt and hops | 0019| or other cereals in water and includes porter, beer, ale and stout; | 0020| (3) "cider" means an alcoholic beverage made from the | 0021| normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound, ripe apples that | 0022| contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and | 0023| not more than seven percent of alcohol by volume; | 0024| (4) "fortified wine" means wine containing more than | 0025| fourteen percent alcohol by volume when bottled or packaged by the | 0001| manufacturer, but does not include: | 0002| (a) wine that is sealed or capped by cork closure | 0003| and aged two years or more; | 0004| (b) wine that contains more than fourteen percent | 0005| alcohol by volume solely as a result of the natural fermentation process | 0006| and has not been produced with the addition of wine spirits, brandy or | 0007| alcohol; or | 0008| (c) vermouth and sherry; and | 0009| (5) "wine" includes the words "fruit juices" and means | 0010| alcoholic beverages other than cider obtained by the fermentation of the | 0011| natural sugar contained in fruit or other agricultural products, with or | 0012| without the addition of sugar or other products, that do not contain | 0013| less than one-half of one percent nor more than twenty-one percent | 0014| alcohol by volume; | 0015| B. "department" means the taxation and revenue department, | 0016| the secretary of taxation and revenue or any employee of the department | 0017| exercising authority lawfully delegated to that employee by the | 0018| secretary; | 0019| C. "micro brewer" means any person who produces less than | 0020| five thousand barrels of beer in a year; | 0021| D. "person" means any individual, estate, trust, receiver, | 0022| cooperative association, club, corporation, company, firm, partnership, | 0023| joint venture, syndicate or other association; "person" also means, to | 0024| the extent permitted by law, any federal, state or other governmental | 0025| unit or subdivision or agency, department or instrumentality thereof; | 0001| E. "small winer or winegrower" means any person who produces | 0002| less than two hundred twenty thousand liters of wine in a year; and | 0003| F. "wholesaler" means any person holding a license issued | 0004| under Section 60-6A-1 NMSA 1978 or any person selling alcoholic | 0005| beverages that were not purchased from a person holding a license issued | 0006| under Section 60-6A-1 NMSA 1978." | 0007| Section 2. Section 7-17-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 65, | 0008| Section 8, as amended) is amended to read: | 0009| "7-17-5. IMPOSITION AND RATE OF LIQUOR EXCISE TAX.--There is | 0010| imposed on any wholesaler who sells alcoholic beverages on which the tax | 0011| imposed by this section has not been paid an excise tax, to be referred | 0012| to as the "liquor excise tax", at the following rates on alcoholic | 0013| beverages sold: | 0014| A. on spirituous liquors, one dollar sixty cents ($1.60) per | 0015| liter; | 0016| B. on beer, except as provided in Subsection E of this | 0017| section, forty-one cents ($.41) per gallon; | 0018| C. on wine, except as provided in Subsections D and F of | 0019| this section, forty-five cents ($.45) per liter; | 0020| D. on fortified wine, one dollar fifty cents ($1.50) per | 0021| liter; | 0022| E. on beer manufactured or produced by a micro brewer and | 0023| sold in this state, provided that proof is furnished to the department | 0024| that the beer was manufactured or produced by a micro brewer, | 0025| twenty-five cents ($.25) per gallon; | 0001| F. on wine manufactured or produced by a small winer or | 0002| winegrower and sold in this state, provided that proof is furnished to | 0003| the department that the wine was manufactured or produced by a small | 0004| winer or winegrower, ten cents ($.10) per liter on the first eighty | 0005| thousand liters sold and twenty cents ($.20) per liter on all liters | 0006| sold over eighty thousand but less than two hundred twenty thousand; and | 0007| G. on cider, forty-one cents ($.41) per gallon." | 0008| Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions | 0009| of this act is July 1, 1996. | 0010| | 0011| HB | 0012| 72 | 0013| Page  |