Bill Calls for 6-Cent Temporary Reduction in Federal Diesel Fuel Tax

A U.S. House bill calls for reducing the federal tax on diesel fuel from 24.3 cents per gallon to 18.3 cents per gallon. This equals the current federal tax rate on gasoline.

HR 6487, the “Diesel Parity Act,” provides for a temporary reduction in the tax imposed on diesel fuel.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents small businesses, supports the bill.

U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine), ranking member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, introduced the Diesel Tax Parity Act, S. 2896, the Senate version of this bill, earlier this year.

“Our trucking industry and small businesses are in a crisis and drastic steps need to be undertaken by Congress. The situation for Maine’s trucking industry is simply untenable and we need immediate action to lower the price of fuel for small businesses that are impacted by these historic costs,” Snowe said in an April 29, 2008 press release.