STATE HOUSE — Lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on tobacco tax exemption legislation unlikely to get far in the Legislature though it may appear before voters next year.
A bill (H 3503) filed at the request of Geoffrey Yalenezian would exempt cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and all other tobacco products from the 6.25 percent sales tax.
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill weighed a bill Tuesday that supporters say would level the playing field for small beer brewers, while opponents say it would irreparably damage the craft-brewing industry that supports it. An overflow crowd gathered for the hearing, spilling into a State House hallway.
The legislation would rewrite the law on beer distribution to let some brewers end relationships with distributors. Under the current law, a beer supplier can only terminate its contract with a distributor if the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission determines that the distributor has violated one of five statutorily defined conditions.
