This bill establishes the "New Jersey Wine Promotion Account" within the Department of Agriculture, which will receive dedicated sales tax revenues from retail sales of locally produced wine. Specifically, the account will be credited with an amount equal to $0.47 per gallon on all sales of wines sold by licensed plenary and farm winery licensees, as well as the revenue collected from the sales and use tax on retail sales of wine produced at New Jersey wineries. The funds in this account will be utilized by the Secretary of Agriculture for research and development related to viticulture and winemaking processes in the state, as well as for promoting New Jersey wine, in alignment with recommendations from the New Jersey Wine Industry Advisory Council.

Additionally, the bill includes provisions requiring alcoholic beverage wholesalers to report sales to retailers and mandates that retail sellers of New Jersey-produced wine provide customers with a detailed sales slip that separately states the retail price and tax collected on the wine sale. This requirement aims to ensure proper tracking of tax revenues dedicated to the New Jersey Wine Promotion Account. Notably, the separate record-keeping and reporting obligations will not apply to vendors that primarily serve meals to customers. The bill is set to take effect immediately but will first apply six months after its enactment.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 4:10-76, 54:32B-24