Connecticut Poised To Hit Trucking Industry With Higher Diesel Tax

If there’s such as thing as an anti-trucker state, Connecticut may very well qualify. Lawmakers recently offered residents gasoline price relief by waiving the state’s per-gallon levy but balked at offering truckers the same courtesy on diesel. Freight haulers in the New England state are now bracing for what could be a reported double-digit hike in the diesel tax come July 1.

“You know the diesel tax, let’s say half that is paid for by out-of-state tractor-trailer trucks, many of which don’t stop in the state they just keep rumbling through,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont reportedly said. “I like to do tax cuts that really focus on middle-class folks here in our state.”

The state’s Department of Revenue Services is expected to announce the rate increase by June 15, which currently stands at 40.1 cents per gallon. Passenger vehicle gasoline is taxed at a lower rate of 25 centers per gallon. That levy was suspended through the end of 2022.

Although Gov. Lamont typically voices a Democrat-majority opinion with lawmakers, some division within the party and from Republicans on higher taxes persists. And private-sector leaders have urged state lawmakers to hold a special session and scuttle any additional diesel expenses.

“I think if anything dictates that there should be a special session, it’s this one because this is hurting every person in the state on every product that’s sold,” Chris Herb, president and CEO of Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, reportedly said. “No one knows what it’s going to be in advance, when July 1st comes, until they make that announcement. So, that’s the confusion right now. We don’t know how much more we’re going to have to pay to ship products.”

Some industry insiders speculate the tax hike with fall between 10 and 15 cents per gallon. At that rate, the state would reel in upwards of $1.5 million in additional revenue. Few disagree that the move will only exacerbate inflation as the diesel tax gets passed along to consumer goods. A diesel tax at this juncture during 40-year high inflation is effectively taking money out of consumers’ pockets.

Katie Childs, vice president of Tuxis Ohr, reportedly sold more than 14 million gallons of diesel in Connecticut. She recently went on the record at a GOP gubernatorial campaign stop stating that residents will ultimately feel the diesel tax in their wallets.

“We’ve already done whatever we can to absorb the inflationary expenses, so all of these new taxes that are coming in are going to go 100 percent being passed on,” Childs reportedly said. “The people who are buying our diesel fuel are experiencing the same costs no matter what they deliver.”

Adding insult to injury, Connecticut is poised to roll out its truck-only highway use tax on Jan. 1. The levy would hit heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles with charges ranging from 2.5 cents to 17.5 cents per mile. The measure is expected to siphon off upwards of $90 million annually from truckers.

Sources: usnews.com, ctnewsjunkie.com, ctmirror.org