[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 112 (Monday, June 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31547-31548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12440]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. EP 682 (Sub-No. 12)]


2020 Tax Information for Use in the Revenue Shortfall Allocation 
Method

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Board is publishing, and providing the public an 
opportunity to comment on, the 2020 weighted average state tax rates 
for each Class I railroad, as calculated by the Association of American 
Railroads (AAR), for use in the Revenue Shortfall Allocation Method 
(RSAM).

DATES: Comments are due by July 14, 2021. If any comments opposing 
AAR's calculation are filed, AAR's reply will be due by August 3, 2021. 
If no comments are filed by July 14, 2021, AAR's calculation of the 
2020 weighted average state tax rates will be automatically adopted by 
the Board, effective July 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board via e-filing on the Board's website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathaniel Bawcombe at (202) 245-0376. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RSAM figure is one of three benchmarks 
that together are used to determine the reasonableness of a challenged 
rate under the Board's Simplified Standards for Rail Rate Cases, EP 646 
(Sub-No. 1), slip op. at 10 (STB served Sept. 5, 2007),\1\ as further 
revised in Simplified Standards for Rail Rate Cases--Taxes in Revenue 
Shortfall Allocation Method (Simplified Standards--Taxes in RSAM), EP 
646 (Sub-No. 2) (STB served Nov. 21, 2008). RSAM is intended to measure 
the average markup that the railroad would need to collect from all of 
its ``potentially captive traffic'' (traffic with a revenue-to-
variable-cost ratio above 180%) to earn adequate revenues as measured 
by the Board under 49 U.S.C. 10704(a)(2) (i.e., earn a return on 
investment equal to the railroad industry cost of capital). Simplified 
Standards--Taxes in RSAM, EP 646 (Sub-No. 2), slip op. at 1. In 
Simplified Standards--Taxes in RSAM, EP 646 (Sub-No. 2), slip op. at 3, 
5, the Board modified its RSAM formula to account for taxes, as the 
prior formula mistakenly compared pre-tax and after-tax revenues. In 
that decision, the Board stated that it would institute a separate 
proceeding in which Class I railroads would be required to submit the 
annual tax information necessary for the Board's annual RSAM 
calculation. Id. at 5-6.
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    \1\ Aff'd sub nom. CSX Transp., Inc. v. STB, 568 F.3d 236 (D.C. 
Cir. 2009), vacated in part on reh'g, 584 F.3d 1076 (D.C. Cir. 
2009).
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    Pursuant to 49 CFR 1135.2, AAR is required to annually calculate 
and submit to the Board the weighted average state tax rate for each 
Class I railroad for the previous year. On May 28, 2021, AAR filed its 
calculation of the weighted average state tax rates for 2020, listed 
below for each Class I railroad:

                                        Weighted Average State Tax Rates
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                            Railroad                                 2020 (%)        2019 (%)        % Change
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BNSF Railway Company............................................           5.119           5.234          -0.115
CSX Transportation, Inc.........................................           5.101           5.097           0.004
Grand Trunk Corporation.........................................           8.124           8.129          -0.005
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company........................           5.139           5.711          -0.572
Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries.................           5.713           5.697           0.016
Soo Line Corporation............................................           8.122           8.181          -0.059

[[Page 31548]]

 
Union Pacific Railroad Company..................................           5.598           5.714          -0.116
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    Any party wishing to comment on AAR's calculation of the 2020 
weighted average state tax rates should file a comment by July 14, 
2021. See 49 CFR 1135.2(c). If any comments opposing AAR's calculations 
are filed, AAR's reply will be due by August 3, 2021. Id. If any 
comments are filed, the Board will review AAR's submission, together 
with the comments, and serve a decision within 60 days of the close of 
the record that either accepts, rejects, or modifies AAR's railroad-
specific tax information. Id. If no comments are filed by July 14, 
2021, AAR's submitted weighted average state tax rates will be 
automatically adopted by the Board, effective July 15, 2021. Id.

    Decided: June 9, 2021.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-12440 Filed 6-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P