The Good Bureaucracy

It is easy to complain about the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the primary federal governing body for all things boozy. It’s the TTB that approves wine, beer, spirit, sake, and (now) certain kombucha labels. It’s the TTB that issues permits for the manufacture of alcohol, as well as for its importation and distribution. And then, of course, they tax. What’s not to complain about? Does the TTB not place a stranglehold on the growth of the alcohol industry with its red tape?

I don’t believe it does because the TTB is actually an incredibly efficient bureaucracy. This isn’t a common refrain, but it’s true. Let’s look at labels, for example. The average processing time for label approval (COLA) for a wine or spirit is less than a week. This is down from what I recall being more than a month five years ago. The bureau has processed over 100,000 labels this year alone. Moreover, the agency has been able to successfully keep pace with the burgeoning craft spirits movement. In 2005, the TTB approved slightly over 4,000 permits; in 2014 it issued more than 6,100, a whooping 52% increase.

There is no doubt that ensuring compliance with the TTB can be a burdensome undertaking, however, such work is necessary for the protection of consumers (via safety and transparency measures), producers (via place-name and definitional protection) and the government (via the collection of tax revenue). The TTB has proven to be both effective and adaptable in its mandate. Ironically, it’s the current White House administration that has shackled the TTB by placing a moratorium on new government rules that would allow for the creation of new official labeling categories like “American Single Malt Whiskey.”

The TTB does good albeit thankless work. It’s time the rest of our government recognized this as well. – Scott Rosenbaum