The Beer Tax Bill.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2982, 5 September 1878, Page 3

The Beer Tax Bill.

'": F,or the following synopsis of the above bill, of which wo have received a copy, we are indebted to a contemporary: —

The Beer Duty Bill provides that only one license shall be necessary where a brewery is carried on by one or more persons in partnership. Every brewer, • within 1 one month after the passing of the Act, and in the firstl week of the month of ; January in each year, shall execute a bond to Her Majesty,- her heirs, and successors, with two sufficient sureties to be appointed i by the Collector of the district', in a sum equal to three times the amount of the tax such brewer will be liable to pay during any one month,'and conditioned (1) that he shall pay or'caused to be paid, as herein prescribed, the duty required by law on all beer made by him or for him before the same is sold or removed for consumption or sale, except as hereinafter provided ; (2) that he shall keep or cause to be kept a book in the manner and for the purposes hereinafter specified, which shall be open for inspection by'iho proper officers as by law required \7 (3) and that he shall in all respectstfaithfully, comply, without fraud, or evasion, with all the requirements of this "Act, and any other law relating to the manufacture and sale of any beer. The collector shall fix the sura for which ■uch bond ahall be given upon aud after the 7th day of August, 1878. There shall be paid on all.beer brewed or manufactured and sold or removed for consumption or sale within the Colony by whatever name such liquors shall be called, a duty of l£ per gallon, which duty shall be paid by" the brewer owning or occupying the brewery in which such beer is made in' the manner and at the time hereinafter specified. All such beer shall be sold or removed for consumption or ' Bale only in hogsheads or barrels, or in •'. ca^ks, vessels, or packages of such smaller sizes as may be approved by the Commissioner. Any beer as aforesaid contained in casks other than hogsheads, or barrels, or casks, or vessels of .sizes other than those approved by the Commissioner, shall be forfeited, and may be seized by any officer of police or other proper officer acting under ibis Act. A book is to be kept by the brewer, in which his daily business is to be entered up. He is also to keep an account | of the materials purchased. An account ' is to be rendered to the .collector of the quantity brewed. A penalty is to be inflicted for not keeping books. The brewer is to affix a stamp upon spiggot or tap hole of "cask, under a penalty p{ ' £20 for each cask, or package. A penalty not exceeding £50 is to be inflicted on ,an.y>. person knowingly withdrawing teef,, without. destroying the stamp. When beer has become sour or damaged, so, : ,as. to. be incapable of use as such, brewers*may sell the same for manufacturing" , purposes, and may remove the same to places where it may be used in casks containing not less than 25 gallons each, and having the nature of their contents plainly and legibly marked upon them, without affixing thereon ,the permit stamp or stamp required. All casks, &c, are, to be branded with, |the name of the brewer. Beer on which' duty is not p:iid is liable to forfeiture. The collector has power to enter any building where beer is kept or sold, and a penalty not exceeding £100 shall be imposed for obstruction. Penalties are recoverable -summarily. The onus of proofs-is to be prima facie on the party charged. If any person shall have been compelled to pay duty under this Act upon or in respect of any beer which he baa contracted or to sell or deliver under any contract or agreement entered into prior to the 7tft day of August, 1878, such person shall be entitled to add so much money to the contract price as he shall have been compelled to pay for duty under, this ,Act, and may sue for and recover v the,same accordingly. But the power hereby conferred shall not subsist for. a .longer period than nine months from the .said 7th day of August, if any "such contract -or agreement' shall endure so long.-"" '. ' '