American Trucking Association (ATA) President and CEO Chris Spear sent a letter to members of Congress last week, supporting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and urging swift action to get the legislation passed.
The act, authored by the House Ways and Means Committee, plans $1.51 trillion in tax cuts.
House Republicans said the act will overhaul the tax code, cut the corporate tax rate, eliminate smaller deductions, and reduce the number of individual tax brackets. Critics, however, have said the act amounts to a tax cut for the wealthy and does not benefit most small-business owners.
“Trucking is the backbone of our economy, representing one of every 16 American jobs in the private sector and employing more than 7 million American workers, including 3 million drivers with a median annual income of $55,000,” Spear said. “Trucks collect nearly 80 percent of America’s freight transportation revenue and serve every community of our nation—80 percent of which depend solely upon trucks to bring food, clothing, and life’s necessities. And trucking is predominantly a small-business industry, with 97 percent of our companies operating fewer than twenty trucks.”
Spear said three aspects of the act will benefit trucking carriers by lowering tax rates, broadening the tax base, and simplifying the tax code.