House Passes Legislation Restoring Meals Deduction

Meals eaten on the road could be cheaper come January if tax legislation passed by the House is enacted.

Trucking interests applauded a March 9 vote by the House of Representatives to restore the 80% tax deduction for meals eaten by truck drivers while on the road, but warned of high hurdles ahead. To go into effect, the bill must still garner approval from both a majority of the Senate and President Clinton.

Congress is not addressing the matter as a solitary issue. The tax break was included in legislation that would increase the minimum wage by a dollar to $6.15 an hour over the next two years. It passed by a vote of 257-169.

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“This has been truckload’s No. 1 issue for the past three or four years,” said Mac McCormick, president of Best Way Express in Vincennes, Ind.



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