TN Diesel Fuel Tax Challenge

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100 ... nfair+edge

A railroad company has challenged a state tax that it claims gives trucking companies an unfair advantage in the freight hauling business in Tennessee.
Trains pay a 7 percent tax on diesel fuel, a charge trucks are exempt from paying under state law. In a federal lawsuit filed last month, Illinois Central Railroad Co. claims the train tax amounts to discrimination against its industry. At stake are millions of dollars the state collects annually from the train tax, which brought in $11.4 million last year. And the suit's outcome could also impact the economics of the state's freight hauling business, which is dominated by trucks.

More at the Tennessean.

The tax is mostly used by short lines in the state to rebuild/repair tracks. To be fair, perhaps CN/IC should get some of the benefits?

Classic broken window. Unintended consequences strike again.

So the railroads pay this tax in to a slush fund and might get some of the money back. Or they could just keep the money and fund their own projects themselves. Great job Tennessee.

That tax sounds so stupid, it must have been invented in Ontario. Government is only too good at redistributing wealth... to themselves and for their benefit.