Case, Republicans Petition for Hearing on Truck Tax Repeal

HARTFORD – State Rep. Jay Case (R-Winsted) joined his colleagues in successfully petitioning the Finance Committee to hear a proposal that seeks to repeal the newly implemented Highway Use Tax (HUT). This tax, passed by Democrats in 2021, is levied according to a truck’s weight, classification and number of miles traveled in Connecticut.

“The implementation of this tax has served as a holistic tax increase on all goods delivered to Connecticut retailers on a truck. Essentially, there is no industry that has been unaffected and the increased cost of doing business in our state will in turn cause the already-rising price of goods to go up further,” said Rep. Case.

According to Case, members of his community have been contacting him to raise concern over the affordability of basic goods like groceries and clothing. Consequently, Case and his Republican colleagues petitioned to raise H.B. 5290, An Act Eliminating the Highway Use Tax, despite the Finance Committee’s Democratic leadership attempt to block the concept from being heard.

Considering the committee’s potential inaction, Case added his name to a petition forcing a public hearing on the proposed tax repeal. 51 signatures were collected on Wednesday, meeting the requisite one-third requirement to hold a hearing on the proposed legislation.

It is anticipated that the HUT will bring the state $90 million in new revenue. It was reported, as recently as February 9, that the State Comptroller projects a $1.3 billion surplus for the current fiscal year.

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