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Oklahoma House Says Semi Trailers, Frack Tanks Exempt from New Motor Vehicle Sales Tax

Semi trailers and frack tanks are not subject to Oklahoma’s vehicle sales tax enacted in May, according to a bill the state House passed Thursday.

Supporters say subjecting trucking companies to the 1.25 percent tax was never the legislature’s intent.

Things were a bit tense during the vote. Several House Democrats scolded their colleagues backing the bill a day after falling five votes short of passing a fix for the state’s $215 million budget hole.

"We're willing to tax the single mom in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, who's just trying to get by when she buys a car, but we're OK at giving the corporation an exemption?" said Rep. Matt Meredith.

"When a state is facing a crisis we've been marching toward for 10 years because when times were good, we cut taxes, and when times were bad, we cut services, nobody should be free from helping pay the price to fix what's wrong," said Rep. Forrest Bennett.

Majority Leader Jon Echols said the bill is meant to preserve Oklahoma’s reputation as a commercial tagging hub, and the exemption for trucking companies was nixed during regular session because of a misunderstanding.

"You want to vote no because it makes you feel good, vote no. But don't say you're voting no for the people that need services. Please," Echols said. "Say you're voting no because it helps your political party. Say you're voting no because it helps you so you can put a mean tweet."

The bill passed 63–20, and the tax commission says its impact on collections will be minimal.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.