Avalara Beverage Alcohol Industry Midyear Overview

Join us to hear a panel of experts discuss shifts within the beverage alcohol industry over the last year, and anticipated changes for the year ahead. We’ll focus on the growth of direct to consumer (DTC) shipping and the rise of alcohol marketplaces, and review best practices for navigating the rapidly changing landscape. After the industry panel, you’ll have a choice of four different breakout sessions that will offer a deeper look into additional trends.

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Agenda

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PT Keynote presentation

Beverage alcohol industry panel
Panelists: Rebecca Stamey-White (Hinman & Carmichael LLP), Rob McMillan (Silicon Valley Bank Wine Division), Eric Lewis (Wineshipping), Jeff Carroll (Avalara)

Today’s consumers are living in the golden age of convenience, whether by desire or necessity. They expect to be able to purchase alcohol in the same ways they shop for other products online. But, the U.S. alcohol regulatory scheme has been slow to adapt to this fast-changing ecommerce environment. The pandemic era has put even greater pressure on regulators to respond. 

During this panel discussion, we’ll dive into the recent growth of DTC shipping in the beverage alcohol industry, and the rise of alcohol marketplaces. We’ll ask panelists to share their unique insights and perspectives about the shifts in the industry over the last year, anticipated changes in the year ahead, and advice for navigating them. 

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PT Breakout sessions (choose one):

Breakout A: The rise of alcohol marketplaces
Presented by: Jeff Carroll (Avalara) and Rebecca Stamey-White (Hinman & Carmichael LLP)

Over the last year we’ve seen a rapid growth of alcohol marketplaces and delivery apps, with alcohol suppliers and retailers participating in third-party programs more than ever. With the recent investments in Drizly, Vivino, and others, this channel is clearly poised for continued growth. Participating in this fourth tier of the beverage alcohol industry brings multiple challenges for both the unlicensed marketplace providers and for the sellers that list products for sale on third-party sites. In this session, we’ll provide an overview of those challenges and practical tips for compliance for both marketplace providers and participating sellers.

Breakout B: Beverage alcohol tax and compliance updates for 2021
Presented by: Scott Peterson (Avalara) and Shannon Fahey (Avalara) 

In this panel, we’ll cover the most important changes from an active 2021 legislative season. Learn about recent changes to DTC laws and regulations, and the latest sales tax developments, including new economic nexus laws.

Economic nexus is a topic that many DTC shippers find confusing. Because wineries, breweries, and distilleries already must register for sales tax in most states where they ship, the impact of economic nexus laws has been far less significant than other industries have experienced. With recent changes in Florida, Illinois, California, Louisiana, and other states, the challenge is growing for alcohol sellers. In this session, we’ll break down the sales tax landscape and help businesses understand the important tax concepts and what they mean for their business.

We’ll explain the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) program that alcohol sellers are not yet eligible for as of January 1, 2021. SST offers many benefits to participating sellers, including free sales tax calculation and filing and audit protection. We’ll discuss specific considerations of SST for alcohol sellers.

Breakout C: Federal alcohol regulatory update with Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
Presented by: Susan Evans (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau)

During this breakout session, join Susan Evans, director, Office of Industry and State Outreach, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for an overview of TTB’s 2021 priorities, including system and platform updates, proposed rulemaking, and the implementation of the Craft Beverage Modernization Act.

Breakout D: How to save time on tax calculation and shipping verification
Presented by: Kate Rust (Avalara)

Meeting beverage alcohol compliance requirements often feels like a complex, never-ending task. Plus, recently added rules and requirements for DTC shipping have added more complexity, risk, and cost. During this breakout session, we’ll discuss Avalara AvaTax for Beverage Alcohol, our tax determination solution that identifies regulatory requirements and tax types in multiple jurisdictions and provides one central location for storing beverage alcohol tax compliance information. 

AvaTax for Beverage Alcohol helps beverage alcohol businesses calculate sales and use, excise, and markup taxes in real time. We’ve recently launched Avalara Shipping Verification for Beverage Alcohol, a real-time API that determines whether shipments will be compliant at the time of transaction or prior to fulfillment. We’ll break down the latest rules and regulations and offer some best practices for complying with the changing rules.

Registration for this event includes:

• Two hours of expert insight into recent and upcoming changes within the beverage alcohol industry.
• A meal delivered to the first 300 registrants from a local restaurant. Details will be emailed the day before the event. Terms and conditions apply.