Connecticut truckers group asks for diesel tax hike to be revoked Read more: Connecticut truckers group asks for diesel tax hike to be revoked

Hartford, Conn. —

The Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, a trucking industry group, has sent a letter to lawmakers in the General Assembly asking that an expected 5 cent increase in the state diesel fuel tax be revoked during the legislative special session that begins Tuesday.

The Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association, which represents gas station owners, also issued a statement asking that the increase be stopped. Connecticut currently has the highest diesel fuel tax in the country, and it’s expected to rise to 51.2 cents per gallon from 46.2 cents on July 1, the trucking group said in a press release Tuesday.

Rhode Island’s tax is 31 cents, and Massachusetts has a 23.5 cent tax on diesel fuel.

“Connecticut’s diesel fuel tax is already too high, and the increase will make this state an even more expensive place to do business,” trucking association President Michael Riley wrote.

Gas station group President Eugene Guilford Jr. said rising taxes make Connecticut increasingly uncompetitive. Riley, whose group has 800 member companies, proposed that the tax be capped at 49 cents per gallon.

“This would provide businesses in the state a predictable maximum tax on the diesel fuel which is consumed,” he wrote.