Lawmakers Introduce Harbor Maintenance Tax Exemption

Legislation to exempt domestic shipping from the Harbor Maintenance Tax made its debut on Thursday in the 112th Congress. The bill's sponsors are touting it as a way to create jobs and promote economic growth.

The Short Sea Shipping Act would exempt coastwise, river and Great Lakes maritime transportation from the 0.125 percent ad valorem tax that is levied on vessels arriving at a U.S. port. It would also exempt cargo moving between the U.S. and Canada in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

Vessels are obligated to pay the tax each time they call at a U.S. port. Marine highway advocates for years have argued that the tax puts them at a competitive disadvantage with trucking and railroads that do not pay it.

Supporters of the new bill said the exemption will create jobs by reducing the burden on shippers moving cargo by water in the U.S.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on select revenue measures, is the sponsor of the bill. Supporters of an HMT exemption see Tiberi's position as a positive sign that the bill will get more attention than similar measures in previous Congresses.

Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, one of the bill's co-sponsors, noted that the bill would remove the last barrier to ferry service across Lake Erie, and "open up an avalanche of new investment along the Great Lakes in our region."

Several years ago, a would-be operator proposed ferry service between Ontario ports and Cleveland as a way to reduce travel miles, and relieve congestion at international bridges at Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y.

-- Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com.