Montana Fuel Tax Refunds: Draft Final Report

Details

• Creators:
  McGowen, Patrick T. ; Chaudhari, Jaydeep ; Church, Brian ; Booth, Janelle
• Corporate Creators:
  Western Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  Montana. Dept. of Transportation. Research Programs ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Fuel taxes
  • Fraud
  • Legislation
  • Literature reviews
  • Recommendations
  • Surveys
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/MT-11-003/8205
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.21949/1518243
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Montana
• Corporate Publisher:
  Montana. Dept. of Transportation. Research Programs
• Abstract:
  "The primary source of funding for transportation infrastructure is the taxes that are imposed on motor fuels. One aspect of fuel tax collections is the process that requires consumers to apply for refunds of taxes paid on fuels used for tax-exempt purposes. Few studies on fuel tax evasion have focused on the refund process. The Montana Department of Transportation has expressed concern over the possibility of fraud, errors and inefficiencies in the current fuel tax refund process. This report summarizes a project that focused on estimating the current level of fraud and errors and examining the current laws and processes for motor fuel tax refunds in Montana. The project focused primarily on three refund types; agriculture, power take-off units (PTO) and refrigeration units (reefer). The project included a literature review, a survey of peer states in the region, development of a model to estimate what portion of the state’s fuel consumption might reasonably be considered tax exempt, a review of over 500 refund claim forms, and recommendations for improving the tax refund process in Montana."
• Format:
  PDF
• Alternate URL:
  https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/45000/45700/45785/MT_8205_implementation.pdf
• Funding:
  8205
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/24807/dot_24807_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.43 MB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers ; US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:cf2a2e6a7f143e11c77f5ded234206d7ae12113dd8e4d40d81149ea7ca4dc253