July 10, 2017
To: Members the Wisconsin Assembly
From: Americans for Tax Reform
Re: Proposed Trucking Tax
Dear Representative,
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and our supporters across Wisconsin, I urge you to reject the newly proposed trucking tax, a misguided idea that was recently floated by some members of the Assembly.
By singling out one industry with a targeted tax hike, this proposed trucking tax represents the opposite of sound tax policy. In addition to paying one of the highest trucking registration fees in the nation, Wisconsin truckers already shoulder a disproportionate share of transportation taxes paid. The trucking industry contributes 38% of taxes paid by motorists, while accounting for only 10% of vehicle miles traveled.
Proponents of the proposed trucking tax have pointed to Kentucky’s trucking tax as a model. Kentucky has the nation’s 34th ranked business tax climate, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, and one of the nation’s worst unfunded pension liabilities. I do not recommend looking to the Bluegrass State as a model for pro-growth fiscal policy. In addition to reducing the job-creating capacity of trucking industry employers, this proposed tax hike would lead to higher prices for consumers, who would see part of the burden of this tax hike passed along in the form of higher prices for goods delivered by truck.
Individuals, families, and employers across the Badger State have already been hit with more than 20 federal Obamacare tax increases over the last eight years. The last thing your constituents need is to have lawmakers in Madison pile on with further tax hikes at the state level. As such, I urge you to reject the proposed tax on heavy trucks. I thank you for your public service. ATR will be educating your constituents and all Wisconsin taxpayers as to how lawmakers in Madison vote on this and other important fiscal and economic matters. If you have any questions or if ATR can be of assistance, please contact
me or Patrick Gleason, ATR’s director of state affairs, at (202) 785-0266 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
