Nrmca Urges Participation In Irs Study On Mixers’ Pto Fuel Usage

With the goal of generating accurate and uniform non-propulsive power take-off (PTO) fuel usage data for ready mixed concrete delivery vehicles, the National

With the goal of generating accurate and uniform non-propulsive power take-off (PTO) fuel usage data for ready mixed concrete delivery vehicles, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association is renewing its call for members to volunteer their time and trucks to perform measurements. Earlier this year, it finalized a standard PTO fuel usage testing procedure for use in a study that will ultimately be turned over to the Internal Revenue Service in hopes that mixer trucks would be exempt from off-highway business use federal fuel taxes under the Fuel Tax Equalization Credit for Substantial Power Take-off Vehicles Act.

NRMCA hopes to have results from at least 200 PTO fuel usage tests by June 16. After culling the data and drafting comments on the results, the association will turn over its results to the IRS in early July. The agency’s final public report to the Senate Ways & Means and Finance committees is due in January 2007, but the content should be known before year’s end.

Industry data indicates that fuel used to perform the PTO function of turning the mixer drum amounts to an annual expense of approximately $325 in federal fuel taxes per truck. IRS regulations regarding federal fuel taxes Û written more than 30 years ago Û allow for a fuel tax credit for fuel used by off-road equipment powered by a separate engine other than the one that propels the truck on-road. However, the regulations disallow the credit for engines that perform both a PTO function and propel the truck on-road. About 30 states already offer some form of rebate of state fuel taxes for fuel used in a dual-usage power take-off engine.

In an effort to further educate the IRS on the extend of the PTO study, Rinker Materials hosted representatives of the agency’s nonpropulsive fuel use study team at the company’s Las Vegas plant in late April. Rinker devoted several trucks to NRMCA’s PTO fuel use test and enabled the IRS team to observe the execution of the test procedure. Coordinating the PTO study for NRMCA is Kevin Voelte, 240/485-1152, [email protected]