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Logging contractors ask Senate panel for sales‑tax exemption on log trucks and trailers
Summary
Dana Duran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors in the Northeast, told the Senate Appropriations Committee that logging and timber‑trucking support hundreds of jobs in Vermont and urged a sales‑and‑use tax exemption for log trucks and trailers, citing volatile diesel costs and a new regional economic study.
Dana Duran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors in the Northeast, told the Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee on April 1 that logging and timber trucking produce measurable economic activity in the state and asked the committee to consider a sales‑and‑use tax exemption for log trucks and trailers.
Duran presented a regional economic impact study his organization published and summarized the Vermont figures: "logging and trucking in Vermont, it's about 140 million economic output, 75 million labor earnings, 800 direct jobs, 500 indirect jobs, and 9 million state tax revenue," he said. He said the organization now represents 35 contractors in Vermont and broader membership across the Northeast.
The request he previewed would extend an exemption the committee advanced in 2017–2018 for logging equipment to cover sales and use taxes on log trucks and trailers. "What we're requesting will be on the sales and use tax only for log trucks and trailers," Duran said, and he said he would return next week with fuller details and supporting materials.
Committee members pressed Duran on fuel costs and market pressures. In response to a question from Senator Major, Duran described recent diesel volatility and the effect on small contractors: he said the industry is overwhelmingly diesel‑dependent and that diesel prices had risen sharply in recent weeks, leaving contractors unable to pass costs through to mills. "We're hopeful that the mills eventually will do something," Duran said, describing short‑term coping strategies and the prospect that some operators could stop hauling if prices remain high.
Duran left five printed copies of the study for committee members and said his group would provide data and testimony when the committee considers related tax proposals next week.
The committee did not take action on the tax request during this session; members thanked Duran and scheduled him to return for follow‑up consideration.
