Carriers who underpaid fuel taxes will have to pay less interest under a new amendment to the International Fuel Tax Agreement.


In a 45 to 13 vote, the states and provinces that are members of IFTA approved a an amendment to the agreement that will reduce the rate of interest charged motor carriers who are assessed for underpayments of fuel taxes, reports the American Trucking Associations' State Laws Newsletter.

For more than 20 years, ATA notes, IFTA's interest rate has been a flat 1 percent per month, which now far exceeds the market rate. The new rate will be tied to the rate the Internal Revenue Service charges on delinquent taxes, and will be much lower.

In order to give states time to change their systems, the amendment does not take effect until July 2013.

"Acceptance of this proposal by the states represents a real victory for the trucking industry," ATA notes. "Our thanks to all of the state trucking associations that worked with their IFTA administrators on this issue, and especially to Jim Poe of the Indiana Department of Revenue, who sponsored the ballot and worked harder than anyone to see it approved - because it was the right thing to do."