Railroads’ suits say Tenn. diesel unfair

September 12, 2013

Two of the nation’s largest railroad companies — CSX and BNSF — have filed suit against the state of Tennessee in federal court claiming they are being forced to pay millions of dollars in taxes on diesel fuel that their highway- and water-based cargo-hauling competitors don’t have to pay.

Both railroads, in separate suits filed by the same law firm in U.S. District Court in Nashville on Tuesday, contend that the state’s 7 percent sales and use tax “on diesel fuel purchased and used for rail transportation purposes is discriminatory and unlawful” under the federal Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976.

Read the complete story at The Tennessean.