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. This dedication represents 25 percent of the tax currently imposed on these alcoholic beverages. Additionally, the bill allows taxpayers to indicate on their New Jersey gross income tax return that a portion of their tax refund or an enclosed contribution should be directed to the Jersey Fresh Program Fund.

The bill also clarifies that any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for collection or administration related to the voluntary contributions may be deducted from the receipts collected. The net contributions will then be deposited into the Jersey Fresh Program 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 effectiveness of the Jersey Fresh branding program, which promotes the quality of New Jersey-produced agricultural goods.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 54A:9-25.44