For Immediate Release
(Grain Valley, Mo., January 24, 2018) – Some small-business truckers that paid an unconstitutional highway user fee in New York are entitled to refunds, and now an extension has been granted by the court so that motor carriers will have additional time to locate former drivers and complete the pass-through process.
The refunds were granted because of a landmark settlement reached by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association for $44.4 million on behalf of owner-operators that go into New York from other states. In January 2016, OOIDA was victorious in establishing that the taxes imposed by New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
On July 7, 2017, over 100,000 tax refund checks were mailed to members of the class action. The class action covers registration and decal payments between June 1, 2009 and March 8, 2016. Carriers in the class are entitled to keep refunds for taxes paid exclusively by them. Carriers who charged back any registration or decal fees to owner-operators are required to pass through the full amount of the tax refunds they receive for such tax payments to those owner-operators.
Under the court’s original order, carriers were required to complete the pass-through process by January 7, 2018. However, OOIDA requested an extension for carriers to complete the pass-through process, and the court granted the request.
Drivers who paid New York highway use registration and decal fees from June 1, 2009 through March 8, 2016, and who have not received a pass-through refund from their carrier by the end of February 2018, should contact their carrier or call 855-800-4235.
The Association had challenged the taxes as unconstitutional and discriminatory against out-of-state truckers who drive their trucks mostly in other states – in contrast to New York-based truckers who drive a disproportionately higher number of miles in New York. OOIDA established that the challenged taxes resulted in a higher per mile tax rate being imposed on out-of-state trucks, and therefore violated the Commerce Clause.
The state’s Supreme Court agreed with OOIDA, and declared the fees unconstitutional and invalid. The Court also permanently enjoined the state from collecting them in the future.
For further information regarding the background of the case, please visit www.nytrucktaxrefunds.com.
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The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the only national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 158,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the Greater Kansas City, Mo., area.
