TXTA Statement On senator John cornyn's vehicle miles traveled tax comments

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION—May 18, 2021
TXTA Contact: Kimberly Leggett
kimberly@texastrucking.com

AUSTIN—Texas Trucking Association President and CEO John D. Esparza released the following statement regarding Senator John Cornyn's vehicle miles traveled tax comments in today's Senate Finance Committee meeting: 
 
“Senator Cornyn’s vehicle miles traveled tax is an assault on the trucking industry and the more than 735,000 hard working Texans who keep the Texas economy strong. To see Senator Cornyn not only support such an ill-conceived idea, but to take the lead, is completely unacceptable to the thousands of trucking companies and small businesses across Texas that he purports to represent.
 
Infrastructure funding is desperately needed, but not on the back of one industry. That is the essence of a discriminatory tax on the very companies that bring life’s essentials to every Texan. Trucks travel millions of miles yearly across our nation to keep the economy moving—but they are not the only users of our highway system.
 
A 25-cent tax on every mile traveled means approximately $25,000 per truck for a truck that travels 100,000 miles a year; almost half the average salary for a truck driver. Eighty-eight percent of trucking businesses in Texas are small mom and pop shops already operating on paper thin margins who can ill afford to be targeted while helping the nation recover from a global pandemic. For those that can manage to survive a massive consumption tax, it will result in increased costs of goods and services for all consumers. What is bad for trucking, is bad for all Texans and a discriminatory tax will be felt by everyone.
 
TXTA has been a ready ally looking for innovative ways to further support the Highway Trust Fund and have recently expressed these thoughts with Senator Cornyn.  TXTA is deeply disappointed to have been excluded from these transportation focused discussions."