Will Arkansas
be one of the first states to collect back taxes from trucking
companies that can no longer register their trucks in Oklahoma
to get a tax break? According to Lane Kidd, executive director
of the Arkansas Trucking Association, Attorney General Mark Pryor
has issued an opinion that says Arkansas, indeed, "can"
collect back sales tax on a vehicle that was previously registered
in Oklahoma.
"But
Arkansas is not bound to do so by statute," Kidd said. "It
is up to the Director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and
Authority to set policy. So, Pryor's opinion is favorable in that
nothing in state statute requires this action."
The issue
arose after the International Registration Plan (IRP) challenged
Oklahoma as third- party registrar. The state previously had allowed
truckers to use third-party agents to establish residency in Oklahoma.
Thirty-eight
states now provide either an exemption from sales tax, an apportioned
sales tax, or a cap on sales tax for equipment used in interstate
commerce. Arkansas repealed its sales tax in the early 1970s and
now is only one of eight states that charges sales tax on such
equipment.
According
to Kidd, the back fees would be less a credit for the $10 excise
tax Oklahoma charged.
-- Donna Carlson, staff writer
