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October 18, 2000 10:18 AM, EDT

A study done by the Oregon Department of Transportation shows that truckers in the state hauling certain natural products paid a flat fee instead of the state’s weight-distance tax – resulting in a collective tax break that totaled $3.575 million in 1999.

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The study bolsters the lawsuit filed by trucking against Oregon. In the suit, interstate trucking interests claim the flat-fee payers are predominantly in-state truckers and the higher rates charged general commodities carriers discriminate against out-of-state carriers.

ODOT hopes to use the findings of the study to convince state legislators to eliminate the discrepancy between the taxes paid by natural products haulers and general commodities carriers by raising the flat fees.

Robert Russell, director of government affairs for Oregon Trucking Associations, said even if the legislature does remove the gap between the two-track tax systems, the lawsuit filed in July by American Trucking Associations against the weight-distance tax is still valid.

For the full story, see the Oct. 16 print edition of Transport Topics. .