August 5, 2019
![Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Annual Receipts and Payments Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Annual Receipts and Payments](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/fiscal-facts/ff_detailed_ll.png)
Fact:
The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund's excise tax revenues were $384 million in 2018, while payments to affected miners were $177 million. Both revenues and payments have been declining since 1990, and the excise tax rate on coal production was cut in half in January 2019.