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[quote user="John WR"] [quote user="Sam1"]What truckers ... do is immaterial to answering the questions. Equally important,[/quote] Well, yes.  Trucking companies do not choose to exempt themselves from property taxes.  It is government that gives them that exemption and trucking companies simply take advantage of it.  I mean that it the good old American way.  I grab what I can and as much as I can for myself and don't worry about the other guys.  So of course trucking companies will use the roads and enjoy being exempt from property taxes for doing that and not worry about the freight railroads.  But freight railroads do pay property taxes on their right of way and their track and their ties and even on their ballast and spikes.  Alfred Perlman observed that railroads, by paying property taxes, are actually subsidizing trucking companies.  What are the freight railroads to do?  A lot of companies can pack up and move to places that offer them better tax treatment but you can't pack up a railroad track and move it.  All you can do is to pay up.  While you watch the trucking companies get a free pass.  [/quote] Truckers pay property taxes on their office space, terminals, etc. They pay inventory taxes, fuel taxes, excise taxes, as well as vehicle and licensing fees. The fuel taxes that they pay are intended to help pay for the highways that they use.  Whether their fuel taxes are proportionately fair is another question. The evidence that I have reviewed suggests that they do not, although the spread depends on the type of vehicle, the weight, and the road surface. The nation's investor owned railroads pay no fuel taxes. They pay property taxes on their office space, terminals, etc. just like the trucking companies. The key comparison, however, is how much do they pay in property taxes on their rights-of-way and is it proportionally more than or less than the fuel, licensing, and other taxes truckers pay for the use of the highways, which are their rights-of-way? As noted the freight railroads are able to deduct their property taxes, as well as their maintenance expenses, on their income tax return, thereby mitigating the impact of the property taxes. Truckers are able to deduct their property taxes and fuel taxes, but they cannot deduct the cost of maintaining the nation's highways. Until these numbers can be clarified, it is unclear whether the railroads are at a disadvantage.  If the railroads are anything like the large corporation that I worked for, which had huge property tax assessments, they negotiate down the tax assessments. This may be why Norfolk Southern has more than $7 billion in deferred property taxes.  Alfred Perlman could hardly be described as an objective, disinterested observer. What does this have to do with Amtrak or passenger rail?  The freight carriers, irrespective of their tax burdens, are not allowed to pass any of their taxes through to Amtrak.
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