Letter to the Editor: N.J. Takes on Trucks

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hope that people are aware of the action New Jersey is taking against 18-wheelers. The state is enforcing a long-standing, but up until now mostly ignored minimum corporate tax.

Legally incorporated truckers or trucking companies must register with the state and pay it — even a single truck from out of state making just one pickup or delivery.

My husband’s company had only one truck in New Jersey, but even so, he was fined almost $4,000 for not being registered in New Jersey as a company doing business there.

The driver said it was the combined effort of the state’s highway patrol and transportation and taxation departments, and that they stopped him on the highway, with many others. He said they had cordoned off a parking area and pulled the trucks off the highway into it.

The driver said that although he told them he now had no load to pick up — it was cancelled — and was just going to a truck stop, they didn’t care. They still fined him.

As we and many others were never advised of this requirement, it is ridiculous. We are dealing with brokers, so why do we need to register? Our contract is with the brokers, not the customer to whom we are delivering.

We have been talking further with the New Jersey taxation department and we explained that we were doing a load for a broker. We had no agreement with the company in New Jersey that we were delivering to and picking up from. They stated that, regardless, our truck being in New Jersey was sufficient to warrant our company registering with them or incorporating in the state.

I want to know why this has not been made common knowledge. We have been fined a lot of money and we were lucky we had only the one truck there.

Do they realize they stand to ruin companies in New Jersey that deal with companies from other states? This fine has given our company a cash-flow problem. We had already taken some unprecedented blows from breakdowns, and then this, which we had not allowed for.

What steps can trucking companies take to get this money back? It is something we can ill afford. With the current fuel prices, we are already under a terrible strain financially.

Susan

i>[Last name and company name

withheld at writer’s request.]

t. Petersburg, Fla.

This letter appeared in the May 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.