Connecticut’s tax on diesel fuel will increase beginning July 1st

Connecticut’s tax on diesel fuel will increase in less than a month, adding to the current strain on the trucking industry. 

The tax on diesel fuel is scheduled to increase on July 1st, but the Department of Revenue Services has yet to decide what the new tax rate will be as of June 14th. The current Connecticut tax on diesel fuel is 40.1 cents per gallon. 

“It gets to the point where you don’t want to come to places like the east coast or far west because diesel is a dollar more than the rest of the country,” said Jamaal Lewis, the Owner/Operator of J. Lewis Logistics, out of Atlanta, GA. 

“I’m literally watching companies go out of business or not quite out of business, but the owner operators just sit their trucks,” Lewis continued to Fox 61 News.

Not only are the trucking companies struggling, but so are driver attitudes – and rightly so. On top of fuel prices, supply chain issues, and the impending diesel tax, Connecticut will be taxing truckers for every mile driven in the state beginning in January of 2023. 

“Attitudes get a little bit tweaked and people start getting angry with each other and stuff can happen,” said Paul Fenochietti, a trucker for Barr-Nunn Transportation of Granger, IA. 

“In February I might gross $8,500 for the week and come home with $4000,” said Lewis. “Last week I grossed $7,100 and came home with $800…” Lewis added. 

The Motor Transport Association of Connecticut and others are now calling on the Governor and legislature to hold a special session this summer to suspend the diesel tax hike and even repeal the upcoming truck miles tax.