Revenue Enhancement through Increased Motor Fuel Tax Enforcement

Abstract

The development of the FHWA fuel tax compliance program is described, and estimates of additional motor fuel tax revenues generated by enforcement programs are presented. Substantial revenue losses caused by motor fuel tax evasion schemes were discovered in the mid-1980s. Since 1986, the Internal Revenue Service and FHWA have worked cooperatively to reduce fuel tax evasion by supporting changes in tax collection procedures and additional enforcement resources. Since fiscal year 1990, FHWA has provided funding to supplement state and IRS fuel tax enforcement resources under the auspices of the Joint Federal/State Motor Fuel Tax Compliance Project (joint project). The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 provided $5 million annually through 1997 for the joint project. Enforcement activities directly contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and state transportation funds, a yield estimated at $10 to $18 per dollar spent on these programs. Furthermore, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 moved the incidence of the federal excise tax on diesel fuel to the point of removal from bulk storage at the terminal and required tax-exempt diesel fuel to be dyed. The HTF revenue from the diesel fuel tax has increased more than $1 billion in the year since these changes went into effect on January 1, 1994, net of the tax rate increases also enacted in 1993. Some $600 million to $700 million of this increase has been estimated to be the result of improved compliance.