A Minnesota proposal to impose a new 5.5% tax on a wide range of services that include trucking would add a large cost to the state’s trucking industry, the Minnesota Trucking Association said.
Though Gov. Mark Dayton’s (D) budget proposal does not single out trucking, it seeks to expand the state sales tax to include all services “engaged in for a fee, retainer, commission or other consideration” and does not exempt trucking.
MTA announced late last week that it would tour the state, hosting public events to speak about the potential effects of Dayton’s proposal.
“Trucking companies simply don’t have the margin to absorb those costs nor the additional sales taxes they will pay for obtaining critical accounting, legal and consulting services,” MTA President John Hausladen said in a statement. “Those costs have to be passed on to the consumer.”
As for the sales tax, trucking companies that operate in Minnesota would charge the tax to shippers when they bill for services. While the tax would increase the costs of shipping by truck, Hausladen said, he was concerned about what it would cost trucking companies to comply with the new law.
