ATA Asks Supreme Court to Review Oregon Tax Decision

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merican Trucking Associations Tuesday filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Oregon Supreme Court’s rejection of ATA’s challenge to Oregon’s weight-distance tax system.

The case involves the so-called flat-fee option, which allows transporters of certain commodities to pay a fixed annual fee instead of the state’s mileage tax.

ATA highlighted in its petition a unanimous Oregon appeals court ruling that found the flat-fee option violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

ATA said the state supreme court ruling ignored adverse effects on interstate commerce caused by flat trucking fees and improperly refused to consider evidence that confirmed that the flat fees resulted in per-mile tax savings for flat-fee payers — virtually all of which are Oregon-based motor carriers.

Oregon remains one of only four states to continue to rely on administratively burdensome weight-distances taxes as a source of highway funding, ATA said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide by the end of its current term in July whether it will hear ATA’s appeal and, if review is granted, would hear oral arguments in the fall.