Connecticut’s trucking industry has questions: how is the new tax law supposed to work?
Beginning in 2023, Connecticut truckers are liable to a new lax law in the northeastern state. The tax applies to Class 8 and Class 13 large commercial trucks and imposes a a fee on a per mile basis - due by February 28th. This fee can range from 2.5 cents per mile for vehicles weighing 26,000 to 28,000 pounds to 17.5 cents per mile for trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds. While the tax has been projected to accumulate approximately $90 million per year for transportation improvements in Connecticut, many truckers are scratching their heads.
John Blair, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, has cited this growing concern for truckers in the state who are asking questions of how compliance to this new tax law will work and who is exempt from it. Blair also suggested that legal action is potentially on the table. Tiffany Thiele, communications director for the state Department of Revenue Services, in turn, has stated the state’s DORS is in regular communication with carriers who have questions regarding the tax. Connecticut has a reputation for having high taxes due to the state's relatively high property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes.
The U.S. Treasury Department recently updated the rules for electric vehicle (EV) tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, stirring up a bit of a storm.