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January 3, 2000 9:54 AM, EST

Fifteen years ago, Oklahoma began marketing itself as the promised land for trucking companies in search of a cheap place to base-plate their tractor-trailers. But now the Sooner State is facing assaults on its status from two quarters: a state legislator and the organization that administers the International Registration Plan.

If either is successful, it could spell an end to the practice of out-of-state companies registering their vehicles in Oklahoma to save money.

State Rep. Russ Roach would like to scrap the state’s flat $10 excise tax on vehicles weighing more than 54,000 pounds and replace it with a 3.5% tax. He calls the current situation a “sweetheart deal” for trucking — at the expense of motorists, who pay an average of $840 a car.

Meanwhile, IRP’s Dispute Resolution Committee ruled last month that motor carrier registrants must have a bona fide place of business in a state and not just an address (12-13, p. 2).

For the full story, see the Jan. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. .