Repeal of N.Y. Ton-Mile Tax Fails

The New York Legislature adopted a budget, but elimination of the state’s ton-mile tax on trucking was not part of the package.

The Senate voted unanimously to repeal the weight-mile tax in June, and the New York State Motor Truck Association had hoped to get the measure through the Assembly by attaching it to the state budget (5-7. p. 4). However, lawmakers could not stomach the $60 million to $80 million shortfall the repeal was projected to create.

The trucking association had proposed to replace some of the lost revenue with a 50% increase in truck registration fees.

William G. Joyce Jr., president of the association, said the budget that was adopted Aug. 4 left little money for tax cuts.

“They had $100 million in tax cuts to give out, and our program was going to cost at least $60 million,” he said. “But we’re still on it and we’ll continue to push it, so we’ll be ready when legislators come back in the fall.”

Joyce said his organization will not have much downtime in its efforts to fight the ton-mile tax. Lawmakers were so late in adopting this year’s budget that Gov. George E. Pataki will soon begin working on next year’s fiscal plan.

Joyce said the vote by Oregon lawmakers to repeal their weight-distance tax would give his association’s efforts momentum, which would be boosted even further if an American Trucking Associations lawsuit in Idaho succeeds in knocking down that state’s weight-distance levy.