‘Discriminatory proposal’

In 2020, OOIDA and its members helped prevent a truck-only vehicle-miles-traveled tax from becoming a reality.

Early in 2021, OOIDA was again busy trying to head off the “discriminatory proposal.” The Association wrote a letter in March to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Finance in opposition of a truck-only vehicle-miles-traveled tax. The Association also informed lawmakers that inclusion of a truck-only VMT tax in the next highway bill would likely lead to the legislation’s “ruin.”

“We are disappointed that this controversial and discriminatory proposal has resurfaced, as our industry has consistently supported increasing Highway Trust Fund revenue through equitable increases to existing user fees,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote. “The inclusion of such a divisive policy in the next surface transportation reauthorization would instantly eliminate our support for the bill and likely destroy any hope for its passage.”

Last year, a truck-only vehicle-miles-traveled tax was pitched but didn’t gain much steam. Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, said OOIDA members deserved a lot of the credit.

“Folks, grassroots advocacy works,” Long said a year ago. “After publicly surfacing two weeks ago, the controversial truck-only VMT tax is now dead, buried by the aggressive opposition of OOIDA members. Our grassroots advocacy has again proved to be a force of nature.”

Attempting to hold off the proposal again, OOIDA informed lawmakers that truckers are already paying more than their fair share into the Highway Trust Fund and that the decreases in funding from the fuel tax are coming from passenger vehicles, not commercial motor vehicles.

OOIDA also noted that truckers are on the hook for supplemental taxes that other highway users do not pay.

“Clearly, our industry is not the problem,” Spencer wrote. “If Congress would like to properly address diminishing Highway Trust Fund returns, it must be honest about the driving force behind them. Rather than singling out trucks, you should start by ensuring passenger vehicles are also providing stable and reliable revenue for our highway infrastructure.” LL