This bill amends existing law to dedicate a portion of the revenue collected from the alcoholic beverage excise tax on certain wine sales to the Jersey Fresh Program Fund. Specifically, it mandates that the State Treasurer deposit into the fund an amount equal to the revenues generated from the excise tax at a rate of $0.21875 per gallon for wines, vermouth, and sparkling wines sold by plenary winery and farm winery licensees. Additionally, the bill allows taxpayers to indicate on their New Jersey gross income tax return that a portion of their tax refund or a contribution should be directed to the Jersey Fresh Program Fund.

The legislation also stipulates that any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for the collection or administration of these contributions may be deducted from the receipts collected. The net contributions will then be deposited into the Jersey Fresh Program Fund, which is required to be appropriated annually by the Legislature to the Department of Agriculture. This funding supports the Jersey Fresh Program, which promotes New Jersey-grown agricultural products, including fruits, vegetables, nursery crops, seafood, equine livestock, and processed foods made with locally sourced ingredients.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 54A:9-25.44