By Tom Payne in Wayside, Ga. | The $300,000,000 question in Georgia is why 85 percent of interstate trucking companies do not buy fuel in Georgia.
On March 15, I attended a meeting with state Representatives Bubber Epps of Dry Branch and Susan Holmes of Monticello, and Senators Burt Jones of Jackson and David Lucas of Macon. I had followed the state meetings of the Transportation Committee, and I had a question.
My transportation question was about a complicated fuel tax sharing issue with other states. I had been reluctant to write on this due to its complexity.
My question, “Did the state fix the problem with the International Fuel Tax Agreement, IFTA, to increase fuel tax revenue being lost, an estimated $300 million?” This is the result of Georgia’s failure to pay other states for the fuel tax collected in Georgia. but where the fuel was used in another state.
If an interstate trucker buys 200 gallons of fuel in our state, and Georgia collects tax, and the driver uses 100 gallons in Georgia and 100 gallons of the fuel in South Carolina, then Georgia is obligated to send the collected fuel taxes to South Carolina for the use of their roads. Part of this problem is that some of the taxes collected are sales tax.
Georgia doesn’t send taxes to the other states. The trucking company does not get credit for the taxes paid in Georgia and used in another state. They have to pay the fuel tax for that state’s road use. They get dinged twice.
As result of this, 85 percent of trucking companies forbid their drivers from buying fuel in Georgia. Mr. Ed Crowell of the Georgia Motor Truckers Association spoke in Savannah to the Transportation Committee, saying that if it could be fixed with legislation, then the fuel tax revenue would increase ‘well north of $250 million.” Representatives were encouraged by this. It would be a good portion of the billion dollars they needed for the new bill.
Rep. Epps, secretary on the Transportation Committee, was unable to answer my question. I asked the question again as the meeting ended, and Mr. Lucas answered it: essentially the answer was no. Asked if it would be fixed next year, he had no idea. After the meeting Senator Jones told me, drivers tell him they would be fired if they bought fuel in Georgia!
- For more information on this, go to http://www.house.ga.gov/Committees/en-US/JointCriticalTransInfraFunding.aspx. For Wednesday, October 1, start at time mark 2:01:30. After Mr. Crowell’s talk, the AAA speaker reveals that the state is also collecting one cent of the fuel tax for the general fund, which amounts to $150 million.
These two items, would have supplied about $400 to 450 million toward the transportation funding.
Instead we got a $5 a room hotel tax, and we will get a six or seven cent increase in the fuel tax. Then next each county will try and add their tax of one cent or one percent (not sure which.) I do not think our representatives did right by their citizens.
Follow Us