The Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA) wants the provincial government to make life cheaper for trucking companies and the general public with changes to what can use tax-reduced dyed diesel. The 12-cent-per-litre tax, which exempts industries such as agriculture, construction, and forestry on the basis that they don't use roads, also applies to refrigerated trailer units, says the STA.
STA Director of Operations and Member Services George Henderson says they want the same exemptions that those other industries receive.
"One item uses diesel fuel, and it's the refrigerated trailer units, and they're not mobile. They don't really use the roads, but they still have to pay the road tax. And that's what we're asking for is for the provincial government to apply an exemption for the road tax for those refrigerated trailer units to use, use dyed diesel."
Henderson says they've asked for that relief in the past, but the provincial government hasn't seemed to want to change it.
He wants to see some of the savings extend into a new industry that utilizes diesel fuel in its equipment.
"The agriculture industry, construction, forestry, any of that equipment that also uses diesel fuel, they can use dyed diesel. So they save themselves on the road tax. In the long run, it saves their industries X amount of dollars as far as overhead. We're just asking the government to do the same thing as far as the trucking industry goes."
So far, the province's responses have been generic, according to Henderson, hearing that Saskatchewan is already an economic place to live.
While he agrees with the province's assertion, he says that the road tax is a big hit for the industry.
"Each unit costs approximately twenty-four thousand dollars a year with this extra road tax. So that itself could be applied directly to shipping costs, go to their customers, and it is for refrigerated items. So it is basically going into mostly produce and medical supplies, to grocery stores and pharmacies. Ultimately, they pay that road tax because it's part of the shipping costs that are applied from the carrier to their customer."
Even if the province doesn't accept this round of asking for the exemption, Henderson says the STA won't be giving up any time soon.
"Well, we'll just keep going back. We're obviously an advocacy group; that's our main focus. We do a lot of things, but we'll just go back and we'll just try to get conversations going with other parts of the Saskatchewan government. Currently, we've reached out to the finance department and gotten nowhere. So next steps will be in different areas of the government."
Henderson says that if the exemption were granted, that money would likely head to new equipment, employee raises, or other areas that would trickle back to the Saskatchewan economy.