Three Oregon-based fleets—A&M Transport Inc. in Glendale, Combined Transport, Inc. of Medford, and Sherman. Bros. Heavy Trucking in Harrisburg—have joined with the Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. (OTA) to sue the State of Oregon over the claim that truckers are being forced to pay more in highway taxes than other vehicles.
The lawsuit wants an adjustment of revenue sources to ensure fairness and proportionality of vehicle taxes, an injunction to stop “unconstitutional weight and mile taxes” from taking effect in 2024, and for the three trucking companies to recover a combined minimum of $925,200.63 in damages.
The state’s constitution imposes vehicle taxes to keep the roads and highways well-maintained, and costs vary depending on the class of each vehicle.
Automobile owners pay via fuel taxes, but trucks over 26,000 lbs. are forced to pay a weight-mile tax in Oregon.
From 2005 to 2017, the truckers stated in their lawsuit that there was “near-perfect equity” between what light and heavy vehicle users were paying. No complaints there.
The Oregon Department of Administrative Services performs a Highway Cost Allocation Study every two years, which determines how much users of its road and highway networks need to pay for upkeep. As such, the dollar amounts are adjusted to ensure a fiscal balance for the state.
But, since 2018—i.e., the past three study periods—the lawsuit alleges that things have not been fair to the heavy-truck fleet operators.
For example, in the 2019–2021 study period, heavy-vehicle users overpaid by approximately three percent.
For the 2021–2023 study period, truckers overpaid by 16 percent.
And, in the current 2023–2025 study period, Oregon heavy-duty fleet owners are overpaying by 32 percent.
The lawsuit alleges that because of this disparity, the Oregon heavy-duty trucking community is shouldering an increased share of the road and highway maintenance tax burden.
The point of contention is that, per the lawsuit, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) estimated via the 2023–2025 study that heavy vehicles would overpay by $193 million per year. That works out to a little over $528,000 a day.
“For too long, Oregon trucking companies, the vast majority of which are small, family-owned businesses, have paid far more than their fair share of transportation taxes,” stated Jana Jarvis, the OTA President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.
She added, “By 2025, the trucking industry is expected to have overpaid by half a billion dollars. Trucking companies in Oregon simply cannot sustain paying the highest transportation taxes of any state in the country any longer.”