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 bill also clarifies that any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for the collection or administration of these contributions may be deducted from the receipts collected, with the net contributions being deposited into the fund. The Legislature is required to annually appropriate all funds in the Jersey Fresh Program Fund to the Department of Agriculture to support various initiatives, including advertising and promotional activities aimed at highlighting locally grown agricultural products. This expansion of funding sources aims to enhance the Jersey Fresh branding program, which promotes New Jersey-produced agricultural goods.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 54A:9-25.44