Ala. Court Overturns Truck Tax Assessed for In-State Use
An Alabama appeals court ruled Friday that a trucking company with headquarters in the state should not have been required to pay more than $900,000 in state use tax for trucks that were originally delivered to a terminal in Ohio, a state appeals court ruled Friday, the Associated Press reported.
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled that Boyd Bros. Trucking, Clayton, Ala., should not have to pay use tax on the trucks when only a small amount of their usage was in Alabama, AP said.
The attorney for the trucking company said the ruling will affect the state's ability to tax other trucking companies whose vehicles occasionally travel through or make deliveries in Alabama.
The state’s revenue commissioner, Tom Surtees, had no immediate comment on the ruling, AP reported.
Court records show that Boyd Brothers, whose trucks operate across the country, purchased 740 trucks between 1997 and 2003 and the vehicles were delivered to the company's terminal in Springfield, Ohio, AP said.
After more than a year, the company assigned 507 trucks to drivers based in Alabama, although the vehicles continued to mostly run outside the state, AP reported.
The Revenue Department argued that because the trucks were being operated to some extent in Alabama, they were subject to the state’s use tax and in 2004 assessed the company $916,166.95 in taxes for use of the trucks and trailers, court records show.
The company paid the tax under protest and appealed the assessment. The appeals court decision overturned a ruling a lower ruling upholding the assessment, AP reported.
