Lawmakers Float Weight-Distance Tax
At the same time Oregon lawmakers voted to kill the nation’s first weight-distance tax, a pair of influential congressmen were pushing creation of a federal version of a ton-mile levy that they say would result in many truck owners paying less to Uncle Sam.
Over the years, the trucking lobby has helped roll back numerous weight-distance taxes at the state level, but it has been unable to quell Sen. John Chafee’s continued interest in trucking’s federal tax bill. The Rhode Island Republican has enlisted the support of New York’s Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, who shares a belief that many heavy trucks are not carrying their share of the tax burden. Both men see a simple, elegant solution in the weight-distance tax.Knock 6 cents off the federal tax on diesel fuel. Eliminate three other federal taxes — the 12% sales tax on new trucks, the tire tax and the heavy vehicle use tax — thus simplifying things while raising the same amount of revenue. Reduce the tax bill for 6 million trucks — while owners of 1.5 million cargo vehicles would see their tax liability grow larger.
If they can figure out a way to make it easy for us comply with it, it would be cheaper for me, because we don’t haul any weight — and we’re already reporting miles through IFTA [state-based International Fuel Tax Agreement],” said Mac McCormick, president of Bestway Express, Vincennes, Ind.
 |  Source: Office of Sen. John Chafee |
Chafee wants to:
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“So, a guy like me is going to like it — if they can resolve the compliance issue.”
That’s a big if. McCormick is a leader of the Truckload Carriers Conference, which has a big stake in any tax debate.
TCA’s president, Lana Batts, has been fighting weight-distance taxes her entire career, and she warns that no matter how it’s dressed, a weight-distance tax is an ugly animal that is difficult to feed yet easy to ignore.
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