Logging contractors ask Senate A Committee to extend sales-tax exemption to trucks and repair parts

On Wednesday, April 8, Dana Duran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, told the Vermont Senate A Committee that extending the state's sales-and-use-tax exemption to include log trucks, trailers and repair parts could provide immediate relief to struggling timber-harvesting and hauling contractors.

Duran said the industry currently produces roughly $140 million in annual economic output in Vermont and supports about 1,300 jobs directly and indirectly. "As of 2024, logging and trucking in the state of Vermont effectively produced 140 million of annual economic output and was responsible for about 1300 jobs," he told committee members, noting that he filed a written economic-impact report with the committee.

The testimony traced recent industry strain to a confluence of factors: higher borrowing costs that have slowed construction demand, rising equipment and parts prices, steep increases in diesel prices, and trade-related tariffs that prompted several consuming mills in the region to curtail or stop buying wood late in 2025. Duran said the simultaneous curtailments last November were unprecedented in recent memory and disrupted low-grade pulpwood markets that are essential for regular forest thinning.

Duran reviewed the legislative history of S46, a bill introduced in 2025 that originally sought purchase/use and sales/use tax relief for vehicles and parts used in forestry. He said Senate Transportation pared back the bill last year to a purchase-and-use exemption and that the House has left the measure in committee since April 2025. "We're asking this committee to consider taking the sales-and-use exemption piece and placing it in a miscellaneous bill," he said, stressing that the change would primarily affect the education fund's receipts.

He argued that modern heavy-duty engines required by federal Tier 4 standards have raised truck costs dramatically and that trucks and trailers function as production equipment in the timber supply chain. Duran pointed to neighboring states that exempt similar vehicles from sales tax and asked lawmakers to consider parity: "Vermont is surrounded by states that currently exempt these vehicles from taxation," he said, citing New Hampshire and New York as examples and noting recent Maine legislative action.

On fiscal impact, Duran referenced prior Joint Fiscal Office work and said earlier exemptions for logging equipment were estimated at under $100,000 annually; he suggested a narrowly targeted sales-and-use exemption on repair parts or trucks/trailers would be similar in scale.

Committee members pressed Duran on contingency plans for contractors. He said firms facing unsustainable costs typically either scale back or shift operations (for example, some contractors sell their logging equipment and move into earthwork or excavation). He warned that a sustained loss of contractors would reduce active forest management, increasing risks of overgrowth, blight, invasive species and pressure to develop or sell timberland.

Representative Jed Lipsky, who identified himself as a certified master logger and member of the Professional Logging Contractors, spoke in support and described steep costs for remote diagnostics and parts, arguing the exemption would level the field regionally. "We are not asked for handouts," Lipsky said; "this is trying to create parity between New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and other states." He urged the committee to consider the limited fiscal footprint relative to the risk of losing local capacity.

Chair Senator Engles and other committee members asked Duran and Representative Lipsky to provide bill language the committee could review; Duran said he would submit the latest sales-and-use exemption language immediately after the hearing. The committee recessed for a brief break with the matter left open for further consideration.

Next steps: Duran committed to send the committee draft language for the sales-and-use-tax exemption; lawmakers indicated willingness to examine placing the language in a miscellaneous bill for further review.