Nebraska builds another barrier to consumer choice

Why do our legislators keep attacking our American businesses?

Yet again one of our states attacks the American wine industry by creating an unnecessary, cumbersome, and costly barrier to wine sales. 

Effective July 1, all shippers to Nebraska will need to register and pay a fee for every COLA approved product they sell and ship into the state. Virginia already has this useless and cumbersome rule, and now another state follows in their path. 

We should not have people involved in the industry legislative path that do not understand the impacts. I am sure that none of the big associations like Wine America or Wine Institute of California would have been consulted on such items. I know that the Craft Wine Association was not.  

Nebraska has created a set of rules that fixes nothing, adds costly processes to the state, damages a system that was not broken, and once again damages American small business. One can only surmise that this is at the beckoning of the wholesale lobby as no one on the producer or consumer side would have asked for this, and it neither increases tax collection or provides better health and safety conditions for the state's residents. 

If Nebraska needs to raise funds without increasing taxes, then they could just add a “silly” transportation fee like Colorado did with their 28 cents per shipment fee.  

Why do our states continually attack our American agricultural businesses and all the supplemental businesses they support. It is as if we have decided to self-destruct a complete industry. 

If you are reading this, you should read this great article on “Imported wines are taking over America”, and yet States like Nebraska make it harder to do business. 

It really is time to make it easier to do business in America, not harder. On that note, if you feel legislators need better education to protect our industry, then head over to the Craft Wine Association and sign up as a supporter of the National Direct Shippers Bill of Rights. 

Click here to download the National Direct Shippers Bill of Rights.