At the end of April, The National Trailer Dealers Association (NTDA) joined with 116 other organizations to petition Congress to suspend the 12% Federal Excise Tax on new heavy-duty trucks and trailers in response to the COVID19 Pandemic. If anything, this pandemic has shown that trucks, trailers and drivers are a critical lynchpin in America’s supply chain. When so many other industries shuttered their doors, America’s trucks were still on the road, keeping store shelves stocked and delivering supplies to the front lines.
However, prior to this the nation’s trucking industry was in peril. Long standing companies were ceasing operations amid mounting operational costs, like insurance and maintenance expenses. Suspending FET on new heavy-duty trucks and trailers would ease the burden on a very important sector in the American Economy. In addition, technological improvements made means newly purchased trucks are cleaner and greener, and new trailers do less damage to our roads and infrastructure. Lastly, the overwhelming majority of the trucks and trailers on our roads are made in North America, so more purchases of new trucks and trailers helps keep more Americans employed.
The Full text of the letter can be downloaded here.
