The Biden administration’s recently proposed vehicle emissions rule is aimed at boosting production of clean cars and trucks. But a century-old tax on new heavy-duty trucks means the trucking industry could have to pay more to keep up with climate goals.
Many in the trucking industry have long advocated repealing the 12 percent federal excise tax on the first sale of a heavy truck used on a highway, which can add up to $30,000 to the price of a high-end rig. And they’re confident they will receive more interest from lawmakers as Democrats in Congress and President Joe Biden look to expand the nation’s clean vehicle fleet equitably and affordably.
“Eliminating the [tax] will reduce the cost of new technologies by tens of thousands of dollars and is a technology-neutral solution that allows companies to invest in not only battery-electric, but alternative fuel vehicles as well depending on the availability of infrastructure to support the specific technologies,” Andrew Boyle, vice chair of the industry organization the American Trucking Associations, said at a Senate hearing last Tuesday.
