Industry girds for fight against trucks-only miles traveled tax

Lawmakers are looking for ways to fund a massive infrastructure spending package as gas tax revenue fails to pull its weight

Roll Call

By Jessica Wehrman
 March 18, 2021

As lawmakers begin to drum up ways to raise revenue to pay for an expected massive infrastructure package, trucking groups are working yet again to bat down the idea of charging them fees per vehicle miles traveled.
 “Hell no,” read the subject line of an email from one trucking group.
 That group, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, sent a letter Tuesday to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee warning they’d fight any proposal to impose a truck-only, vehicle miles traveled tax, saying such proposals are “controversial and discriminatory.”
 “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,” wrote Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the organization, arguing such a move would be “a terrible way to demonstrate your support and appreciation” of truckers who kept the supply chain operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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