Vernon, CA – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40) has signed on to the first piece of legislation introduced in support of the growing US kombucha industry.  The KOMBUCHA Act, “Keeping Our Manufacturers from Being Unfairly Taxed while Championing Health Act,” would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the taxable alcohol-by-volume (ABV) threshold for kombucha from 0.5% to 1.25%, relieving a burden that has plagued the young industry since 2010. 

While the ABV for traditionally fermented kombucha averages 0.5%, it can vary slightly due to the nature of living cultures, which has forced small businesses to develop costly techniques and shorten shelf life to comply with the enforced limit. This limit was set during Prohibition and is significantly lower than globally accepted levels of trace alcohol (1-2% throughout Mexico, Canada, Australia and most of Europe).

Roybal-Allard joins fellow California lawmakers Senator Alex Padilla and Congressman Salud Carbajal in co-sponsoring the KOMBUCHA Act, which supports 87 businesses and over 5,500 jobs in the state. The bill, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR),  has received strong bipartisan support and follows a trend of tax updates in recent years designed to relieve excessive tax burdens on craft beverage producers, including the CIDER Act and the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act.

The bill, which has garnered no opposition but struggles to find a vehicle for passage, has advocates from small and large businesses, including GT’s Living Foods, which was the first to launch kombucha in the commercial market and supports over 1,000 employees at its facility in Rep. Roybal-Allard’s district.

GT’s Living Foods has garnered a cult following of its Synergy kombucha line since its founding in 1995 and continues to use a traditional fermentation process in spite of the obstacles presented by the current regulations.

Says founder GT Dave of the bill: “The Kombucha Act will help protect and preserve the authenticity of Kombucha in the US and hopefully provide guidance for other countries to follow. The passage of this act will ensure that Kombucha and its several hundreds of small producers will continue to thrive.”

Kombucha Brewers International, the trade association representing kombucha brands across the globe, has set up a petition for customers who value raw, unpasteurized kombucha to urge their lawmakers to sign on in support of the bill. The petition can be viewed here.

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is a non-profit trade association that represents the commercial Kombucha category globally. KBI strives to promote, protect and enhance the overall well-being of the industry by creating an open line of communication between brewers, consumers and regulators while advancing the industry through advocacy, education, research, and modern legislation. To learn more, visit www.kombuchabrewers.org.

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