Idaho Judge Alters Stakes In Fight Over Ton-Mile Tax
The two-tier fee structure that favors certain trucking operations in Idaho’s weight-distance tax is unconstitutional, a state court ruled last week.
Freight-trucking interests hope the most important effect of the decision will be to spur truck operators who have benefited from reduced tax rates to join the fight to get rid of Idaho’s weight-distance tax altogether.
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The ruling did not knock out the weight-distance tax, but it likely will force many Idaho truckers to shell out a lot more to the state. It also could mean refunds for cargo carriers that were discriminated against.
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Judge Michael McLaughlin of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Ada County struck down the breaks Idaho gives to carriers of certain commodities, such as timber, minerals, sand, gravel and livestock. He ruled that the tax breaks go predominantly to in-state truckers at the expense of out-of-state carriers and ordered Idaho to begin assessing the same tax rates for everyone.
