Vehicle miles tax

How the US Chamber plans to shape supply chain policy in Washington

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.

As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s expert on supply chain and customs-related issues, John Drake recently added two related policy areas — transportation and infrastructure — to his portfolio that are also major priorities for his members.

In his new role as the vice president of transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy, Drake is tasked with leading the Chamber’s advocacy on all those issues on Capitol Hill and within the administration.

Given his promotion earlier this month, we...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-the-us-chamber-plans-to-shape-supply-chain-policy-in-washington

What would a vehicle mileage tax mean for ride-share?

What would a vehicle miles travelled (VMT) tax mean for ride-share?

Support it or oppose it, the federal excise tax on gasoline, more commonly referred to as the gas tax, isn’t getting it done. 

The U.S. government hasn’t raised the federal tax rate of 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993, and since 2008, policymakers have been drawing from nontransportation funds like the general fund to pay for transportation infrastructure because the gas tax simply isn’t bringing in enough money. Just last week, the Highway Trust Fund, which supports road construction and mass...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-would-a-vehicle-mileage-tax-mean-for-ride-share

Report: Electric vehicle tax could revive Highway Trust Fund

The shortfall in Highway Trust Fund revenues caused by electric cars and trucks can be eliminated through an electricity tax that has the potential to achieve the same collection efficiency as the federal fuel tax, according to a new study.

“Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure Funding,” an analysis released Wednesday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), estimates that a tax of 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour on a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) is equivalent to what is paid by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/report-electric-vehicle-tax-could-revive-highway-trust-fund

Connecticut to enact highway fee for trucks

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to sign a bill passed this week by state lawmakers that, beginning January 2023, will impose a tax of up to 17.5 cents per mile on heavy trucks that use Connecticut’s roadways.

The tax,, which trucks would be required to pay in addition to federal fuel taxes, is estimated to generate $45 million in revenue in FY23 and $90 million annually thereafter, and would go toward repairing roads and bridges.

“This small fee on large tractor trailers that are doing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/connecticut-to-enact-highway-fee-for-trucks

How does the Highway Trust Fund work?

As Congress attempts to negotiate a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill to replace the FAST Act — which expires on Sept. 30 — finding the money to pay for it will be the most contentious issue. Central to the pay-for question is the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Congress established the fund in 1956 as a way for the federal government to fund the construction of the Interstate Highway System. After much of the work on the system was completed, spending out of the HTF shifted to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/how-does-the-highway-trust-fund-work

Road-user fee advocates warn Congress: Give truckers priority

The trucking industry was given a wide berth by tax policy experts called to Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify on funding options that will keep the highway trust fund (HTF) from going bankrupt.

For more than a decade, the government has been spending more each year from the HTF than the revenues collected for it, the director of microeconomic analysis for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Joseph Kile, told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Those revenues come mostly...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/road-user-fee-advocates-warn-congress-give-truckers-priority

ATRI puts $20B price tag on vehicle-miles-traveled tax

New research released Wednesday from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found that replacing the federal fuel tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) tax could result in collection costs of more than $20 billion annually.

The main reason for that price tag – which is 300 times higher than the current cost to collect fuel taxes – is a “shift in collection points” from a limited number of fuel terminal operators to 272 million registered motor vehicles in the U.S.

The report...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/atri-puts-20b-price-tag-on-vehicle-miles-traveled-tax

Lawmaker: Use Postal Service to test vehicle-miles-traveled fee

One of the strongest voices in Congress calling for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) user fee is proposing the U.S. Postal Service as the place to test the idea.

“The final step necessary to begin a full conversion to a VMT system is to test it in an interoperable, national setting,” Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri and ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement Friday.

“The USPS operates a large, nationwide fleet of vehicles...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lawmaker:-use-postal-service-to-test-vehicle-miles-traveled-fee

Research group shifts focus to non-nuclear truck crash verdicts

Truck crash

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) will study non-nuclear verdicts in truck crashes as its top priority for the year following last year’s analysis of multimillion-dollar awards.

ATRI expects to publish its findings on nuclear verdicts in June, ATRI President Rebecca Brewster told FreightWaves.

In addition to the effects of small verdicts on the trucking industry, ATRI’s Research Advisory Council chose to follow up on a 2019 study of trucking insurance rates by looking at how...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/research-group-shifts-focus-to-non-nuclear-truck-crash-verdicts