[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3052 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3052
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on
heavy trucks and trailers, and for other purposes.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2018
Mr. Gardner introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
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A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on
heavy trucks and trailers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Heavy Truck, Tractor, and Trailer
Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) there is a 12-percent Federal retail excise tax on
certain new heavy trucks, tractors, and trailers, coupled with
new regulatory mandates, significantly increasing the cost of
new heavy-duty trucks, tractors, and trailers, and discouraging
the replacement of older, less environmentally clean and less
fuel economical vehicles;
(2) this 12-percent Federal retail excise tax is the
highest percentage rate of any Federal ad valorem excise tax;
(3) the Federal excise tax was first levied by Congress in
1917 to help finance America's involvement in World War I;
(4) in 2016, the average manufacturer suggested retail
price for heavy trucks was over $175,921;
(5) the 12-percent Federal retail excise tax routinely adds
between $12,000 and $22,000 to the cost of a heavy truck,
tractor, or trailer;
(6) the average in-use, heavy truck is 9.5 years old, close
to the historical all-time high;
(7) the Environmental Protection Agency's model year 2002-
2010 tailpipe emissions rules account for $20,000 of the
average price of today's new heavy-duty trucks;
(8) according to the 2011 Environmental Protection Agency
and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Regulatory
Impact Analysis entitled ``Final Rulemaking to Establish
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency
Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles'',
model year 2014-2018 EPA-Department of Transportation fuel
economy rules will add up to approximately $6,683 to the price
of new heavy-duty trucks;
(9) according to the 2016 Environmental Protection Agency
and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Final Rule
entitled ``Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency
Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles--Phase
2'', model year 2021-2027 fuel economy rules will add up to
approximately $12,500 to the price of new heavy-duty trucks;
(10) the $39,183 average per truck cost of these regulatory
mandates results in an additional $4,700 Federal excise tax, on
average; and
(11) since the Federal retail excise tax on certain new
heavy trucks, tractors, and trailers is based on annual sales,
receipts from the tax deposited in the Highway Trust Fund can
vary greatly.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXCISE TAX ON HEAVY TRUCKS AND TRAILERS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 31 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is
amended by striking subchapter C (and by striking the item relating to
such subchapter from the table of subchapters for such chapter).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 4072(c) of such Code is amended to read as
follows:
``(c) Tires of the Type Used on Highway Vehicles.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of this part, the term
`tires of the type used on highway vehicles' means tires of the
type used on--
``(A) motor vehicles which are highway vehicles, or
``(B) vehicles of the type used in connection with
motor vehicles which are highway vehicles.
``(2) Exception for mobile machinery.--
``(A) In general.--Such term shall not include
tires of a type used exclusively on mobile machinery.
``(B) Mobile machinery.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term `mobile machinery' means any
vehicle which consists of a chassis--
``(i) to which there has been permanently
mounted (by welding, bolting, riveting, or
other means) machinery or equipment to perform
a construction, manufacturing, processing,
farming, mining, drilling, timbering, or
similar operation if the operation of the
machinery or equipment is unrelated to
transportation on or off the public highways,
``(ii) which has been specially designed to
serve only as a mobile carriage and mount (and
a power source, where applicable) for the
particular machinery or equipment involved,
whether or not such machinery or equipment is
in operation, and
``(iii) which, by reason of such special
design, could not, without substantial
structural modification, be used as a component
of a vehicle designed to perform a function of
transporting any load other than that
particular machinery or equipment or similar
machinery or equipment requiring such a
specially designed chassis.''.
(2) Section 4221 of such Code is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``(or under subchapter C of
chapter 31 on the first retail sale)'', and
(ii) by striking ``4051 or'' in subsection
(a), and
(B) in subsection (c), by striking ``and in the
case of any article sold free of tax under section
4053(6),'', and
(C) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``, and, in
the case of the taxes imposed by subchapter C of
chapter 31, includes the retailer with respect to the
first retail sale''.
(3) Section 4222(d) of such Code is amended by striking
``4053(6),''.
(4) Section 4293 of such Code is amended by striking
``section 4051,''.
(5) Section 4483(g) of such Code is amended by striking
``section 4053(8)'' and inserting ``section 4072(c)(2)''.
(6) Section 6416(b)(2) of such Code is amended by striking
``or under section 4051''.
(7) Section 6416(b) of such Code is amended by striking
paragraph (6).
(8) Section 9503(b)(1) of such Code is amended by striking
subparagraph (B) and by redesignating subparagraphs (C), (D),
and (E) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), respectively.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to sales and installations on or after the date of the
introduction of this Act.
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