Connecticut Governor Proposes Trucking Mileage Tax

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed a mileage tax on tractor-trailer trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds in order to support the state’s long-term transportation funding.

Under the proposal, tractor-trailers would be taxed based on the trucks weight and the miles traveled within in the state, information that will be collected monthly through a new tax system by the Department of Revenue Services, the Journal Inquirer reported.

Most trucks would pay between $2.50 and $11.50 to cross the state, according to the CT Examiner.

The proposal, which is expected to raise $90 million per year, was met with criticism from trucking advocates, such as the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut.

“This is a tax that will slam in-state business, and out-of-state trucking companies are going to evade it,” Sculley told CT Media. “We know that because it happens in other states.”

Lamont defended the proposal, telling news outlets that trucks cause an “overwhelming amount” of damage to roads.

“I just think it’s appropriate that when they tear up our roads and they come through here, they make a bigger contribution,” Lamont said according to the Journal Inquirer.

Critics also point out that unlike a fuel tax, which you have no choice to pay at the pump, mileage-based user taxes are prone to evasion. The American Transportation Research Institute (the research arm affiliated with the American Trucking Associations) noted that the New York State Ton-Mile Tax has a high evasion rate. ATRI found that in 2015, New York took in 35% less in revenue from the NYSTMT than it should have. A previous study by ATRI in 2008 found that between 2002 and 2005 the evasion rate was 45-53%.

It's not the first time Lamont has tried to get truckers to pay more for state infrastructure needs. Last year, the state proposed truck-only tolls.