LBZ
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DOT taking collections for the IRS?I found this over at trucker to trucker.com and remembered hearing about this happening to an o/o last year in CO. If all states start practicing this sort of collection route, they better start adding on to their parking lots at the scale houses!
New Jersey Revenue Agent Holds "Trucker's Load Hostage">> Posted: 25 February 2008 by keep on truckin' at 10:26 AM
This is not as inflammatory as it sounds initially, but New Jersey State Revenue Agents did hold a truck and its boat cargo in transport to Massachusetts until the boat company paid back revenue taxes that the state said it was owed.
This all happened in July last year and the boat manufacturer ended up paying a whopping $46,000 to the State of New Jersey to get the shipment released. At issue was from New Jersey's point of view the fact that the Stingray Boat Company based in South Carolina had a dealer in New Jersey and so owed corporate taxes.
"Stingray Controller Barry Godwin disagreed, since the dealer was an independent business that already paid taxes to New Jersey. But he wired the state the money anyway, because that was the only way he could free his boats.
"I didn't have a choice," Godwin told the House Small Business Committee at a Feb. 14 hearing. "It was show me the money and I'll let you go, or you're stuck."
New Jersey is just one of the several states that claim that out of state business owe them back corporate income tax even if they don't have a branch there and simply do business in their state. The impact for truckers is huge, especially owner operators. Do you now need to "vet" firms for whom you will transport products for to make sure that they have paid up - so you and your rig won't go into a "hostage situation" while Revenue Officers wrangle with your freight owner?
Anyway you look at the situation, truck owner operators should beware. Many simply can't afford the downtime that a situation like this would cause.
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Tom Cobb
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I heard about this happening in another state a couple of years back. It may have been NJ but I am not sure where it was. It seems to me it was CO though over some county taxes.
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LBZ
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Tom,
That was it, they parked a guy last year in CO. because the county taxes on a machine from a dealership hadn't been paid. I think it took 24 hours or so to get cleared up and thinking the broker on that particular piece kicked in a few bucks to help cover some of the expense of the hauler.
However that driver had to leave his trailer at the scale house while he went on down the road to a hotel. Personally I wouldn't have slept a bit knowing my trailer was just sitting there in the open.
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bth9461
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The wacky world of trucking. How is it possible to to vet customers like that. Sounds like a new Gov't Agency is needed. The OFFICE of SHIPPER CERTIFICATION. This would not be possible without computers.
Brian
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LBZ
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My question is what happens when the guy who owes the taxes refuses and says you can just keep it? Are you then to haul for the gov't? What if it is a piece you cannot unload without a forklift, who is responsible at that point?
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Tom Cobb
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Unfortunately it would have to go to court for reconciliation if the ones that are responsible refuse to step up. Call the news media first and start naming names on camera. Then post the owner of the equipment and the broker on the appropriate places. Exposure can do things to cause motivation to fix problems.
One thing that can be done is to chain the load and drive out from under the load if necessary. Sure would pi** a lot of people off.
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mhlogistics
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That was one of our Owner Operators that had this problem in CO. He had a late model skidsteer on. The tax wasn't much, something like a hundred dollars. Any rolling equipment leaving the state of CO must have it's use tax paid. I think the DMV collects it.
The shipper compensated the Owner Operator for his troubles after I had a talk with him. 
Had it been a rusty piece of junk not worth anything I could see where it might of been a problem. At the scale house we were stopped at there was other equipment that had been unloaded and left behind because the owners (buyers) of the equipment refused to pay tax the sellers owed. There was also a horse trailer there with two mules in it that was impounded for the same reason.
Now when we load any equipment out of CO we ask the shipper for a copy of the reciept showing the use tax has been paid. If they can't produce it we don't haul it!
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Tom Cobb
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CO has some strange laws. It is almost impossible to build a house in that state.
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bth9461
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How would you like to be an unfortunate College student that had to take a Ward Churchill class. How long did it take them to fire him? Colorado is a liitle screwed up, I think.
Brian
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Tom Cobb
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They have a choice to choose other classes. It is all about choices. Problem is though that most of the kids today are no smart enough to make correct choices. The know about gadgets but not much else.
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