The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is supporting two House bills that include language designed to retructure how the Federal Excise Tax (FET) is calculated on truck tires.
Proposals would change the current FET from a weight-based system to one based on load carrying capacity of the tire.
"Two years ago, TIA promised to work on this concept with the tire manufacturers as long as it was revenue-neutral," says TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
"We´ve run the numbers and it appears this proposal will generate the same amount of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund without placing a major burden on the tire industry."
The new FET would impose a 9.4-cent tax on radial truck tires for every 10 pounds of carrying capacity over 3,500 pounds.
TIA remains concerned over the bills´ definition of bias tires "and will continue to work with Congress to replace that definition with one that more accurately differentiates bias and radial tires," according to TIA officials.
Both bills are currently in the conference committee process "because the Senate versions of the legislation did not include these FET proposals," says TIA Director of Government Affairs Becky MacDicken.
"The House and Senate need to work out the differences, but we hope with TIA´s added support, the Senate conferees will adopt this FET proposal into the final bill language."
