Congress quietly expands tax breaks for bars and restaurants
H.R. 3325 — CHEERS Act · Filed by Darin LaHood (R-IL) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced May 13, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues to claim a federal tax deduction for energy-efficient beer kegs and draft equipment (stainless steel or aluminum containers and tap systems). Currently, the tax code's energy-efficient building deduction does not cover these items; the bill adds them as eligible property, letting businesses deduct the cost of upgrading to efficient draft systems.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a tax deduction carved out specifically for bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues. It is not a broad energy-efficiency measure (which would apply across all commercial property) but a sector-specific tax benefit. The CHEERS acronym (Creating Hospitality Economic Enhancement for Restaurants and Servers) signals the bill's true purpose: subsidizing the hospitality industry through the tax code.
What the text implies
- The deduction applies to kegs and tap equipment regardless of actual energy savings achieved, creating a tax benefit decoupled from measurable environmental outcome.
- The bill permits leasing arrangements ('taxpayers that rent or lease qualified energy efficient draft property'), potentially allowing pass-through entities and franchisees to claim deductions on equipment they do not own, expanding the tax benefit beyond direct property owners.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
bars and restaurants; entertainment venues; keg and draft equipment manufacturers