The Tennessee Department of Revenue is collecting a $1,000 license fee that for
years - or perhaps decades - was not imposed. We understand that an application
for this license is being prepared and will soon be added to the extensive list
of licenses required of distillers.
The Revenue license is a remnant of
the colorful past of Tennessee's liquor industry. After the repeal of
Prohibition in 1937, Jack Daniels and George Dickel operated under licenses
issued by Revenue. The Alcoholic Beverage Commission was not created until
1963.
We thought that the Revenue license was replaced by the ABC
manufacturer's license - and apparently, for quite some time, Revenue
agreed.
In the past few weeks, we have heard from several distillers that
Revenue has asked for the $1,000 license fee, payable under the 1937 law. One
source at Revenue indicated that an application is being drafted for the
license. Revenue is taking the position that the $1,000 fee is due every
year.
We will update when information about the new application is
available.
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