Senators join opposition to off-highway excise tax

WASHINGTON (Dec. 18)—Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have joined the Rubber Manufacturers Association in opposing an Internal Revenue Service proposal to revoke the excise tax exemption for mobile off-highway machinery and their tires. "Repealing the exception would have an immediate negative impact on thousands of businesses, including numerous small businesses, at a time when those businesses can least afford it," said Baucus and Grassley, chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee.