Senate Introduces Bill to Repeal FET

TopMark Funding’s home state of California has a state sales tax of 7.25%, the highest in the nation for consumers wanting to upgrade to the next highest size of flatscreen television. But even the highest standard sales tax rate pales in comparison to the Federal Excise Tax (FET), a 12% levy put in place to help finance the United States’ efforts in World War I. The United States Senate has introduced a bipartisan bill that may enable truck drivers to pay less when it comes to buying a new truck.

Details

The Bill, named the Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2023, is a compromise between both sides of the aisle: those on the right support it because of their disdain for taxes, and those on the left support it because of their disdain for pollution.

Just some of the reasons the Bill lists for existing:

• The 12-percent Federal retail excise tax routinely adds between $12,000 and $22,000 to the cost of a new heavy truck, tractor, or trailer.
• Nearly half of the Class 8 trucks on the road are over 10 years old and lack a decade of environmental and safety technological advancements.
• From 2007 to 2020, new trucks have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 202,000,000 tons, nitrogen oxide emissions by 27,000,000 tons, and saved 20,000,000 gallons of diesel and 472,000,000 barrels of crude oil.
• The Federal excise tax disproportionately impacts electric and alternative-fueled trucks, which currently have a higher up front [sic] cost, at a time when adoption of these technologies is needed to accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and the reduction of carbon pollution from transportation.

Conclusion

This is not the first time that the FET has been brought up in Congress, but with the bipartisan support that this version has seen in the Senate due to its covering of both Democrat and Republican interests, it is very much possible that it may be the last. If lawmakers are able to get this through and across Joseph Biden’s desk, it will be a monumental achievement that will energize the trucking industry as we know it. We are keeping our fingers crossed that something is finally done about this tax that has outlasted its original purpose for over a century.

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