The Oregon branch of the American Automobile Association isn’t going to quietly let go of the state’s weight-distance tax on trucking, despite the 1999 legislation that repealed the tax.
(Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)
AAA vowed to defeat the weight-distance tax repeal and nickel gas tax increase in a public referendum in May. The organization will also hit up members for money to pay for the campaign, a step it hasn’t resorted to in past battles with trucking.
“We’ll do our best to raise money to wage a winning campaign,” said Roger Graybeal, president of the AAA Oregon/Idaho board of directors. “We plan to win this.”
The repeal is part of a road funding package signed by Gov. John A. Kitzhaber in September (9-13, p. 1). It increases the state’s gas tax by 5 cents and replaces the weight-distance tax with a 29-cent diesel fuel tax that truckers will have to pay and up to eleven-fold increases in truck registration fees.
For the full story, see the Jan. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .
Oregon Voters Approve ‘Fair Share’ Amendment (Nov. 10)
