[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 138 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MOBILE MACHINERY TAX FAIRNESS ACT

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                             HON. PAUL RYAN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2003

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with 
Congressman Pomeroy and 79 original cosponsors from both sides of the 
aisle, to introduce the Mobile Machinery Tax Fairness Act. This 
legislation is designed to preserve the longstanding exemption of 
special mobile equipment, or ``mobile machinery,'' from federal highway 
excise taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, since the highway trust fund was originally created 
almost 50 years ago, it has been the policy of the federal government 
to exclude from taxation certain vehicles whose primary purpose is to 
perform an off-road function. Mobile machines, such as mobile cranes, 
concrete pumpers, and mobile drill rigs, bucket trucks, and digger 
derricks, only use the public highways to travel back and forth from 
the job site, and sometimes stay there for weeks or months at a time.
  However, in June of 2002, with little debate and no input from 
Congress, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed a complete 
elimination of the mobile machinery exemption.
  If adopted, the IRS proposal would force businesses that use mobile 
machinery to pay the vehicle excise tax (12 percent of the chassis 
price) and, the motor fuel tax (18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 
cents per gallon on diesel), as well as the tire excise tax and heavy 
vehicle use tax.
  This change would cost the affected businesses tens of millions of 
dollars each year in increased taxes. Furthermore, a significant 
majority of the firms that would be paying this tax are smaller 
businesses in economically sensitive industries such as commercial and 
residential construction, oil and gas production, and timber 
harvesting.
  Finally, the IRS proposal would undermine current economic policy by 
counteracting, and in some cases eliminating, the depreciation bonus 
for new equipment enacted by Congress as part of the ``Post-9/11'' 
economic stimulus package.
  IRS has since delayed its regulatory proposal. However, it is now 
using two recent Federal court decisions to effectively deny nearly all 
claims for mobile machinery-related tax refunds.
  Only Congress can head off IRS's actions and restore the exemption 
which has served industry for 26 years. My legislation simply preserves 
the current regulatory exemption in statutory form and I ask my 
colleagues to support this important legislation.

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