Trump's tax plan strips a key exemption for dining & living expenses for truckers while on the road

[dalton99a]

1. "Padding the pockets of owner-operators, and taking money away from company drivers"

Not every trucker is experiencing tax season sticker shock. Buried in the fine print of the 2017 tax law is a provision allowing one group to continue to benefit from the per diem exemption: owner-operators, the slim minority of drivers who own their own trucks, or have a fleet employing other drivers. About 300,000 of the nation’s 3.5 million drivers fall into this category.

“This was the best tax bill I’ve ever seen for owner-operators,” says Rutherford, who says that beyond their continuing access to the per diem exemption, they also reap benefits from the law’s new 20 percent deduction for pass-through businesses. The provision means their profits, instead of being taxed as corporate income, are taxed at a lower personal rate.

“I wish Congress had been aware of the unfairness of the fact that they are padding the pockets of the owner-operators, but they are taking money away from the company drivers,” says Bridges.