GOP states raise fees on electric cars as gas tax revenue falls

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Oct 18, 2023, 12:51 PM - Edit history (2)

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12:01 AM EDT on October 18, 2023
By Blake Aued

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• Republican states are slapping new fees on electric vehicles to supplement declining gas tax revenue, but critics say the new fees are more about the culture war than funding transportation. (Washington Post)

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GOP states raise fees on electric cars as gas tax revenue falls

Democrats, environmental groups say the new fees are aimed at the culture wars rather than revenue shortfalls

By Kimberly Kindy
October 16, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

At least eight states, all but one controlled by Republicans, now require drivers of electric vehicles to pay a hefty annual registration fee of $200 or more. GOP lawmakers say it’s an effort to make up for lost gas tax revenue. EV advocates say it’s an effort to block sales of the environmentally friendly vehicles.

The new fees come as thousands more electric cars take to the roads, thanks in part to incentives backed by President Biden and Democratic lawmakers. But some Republicans say that movement has had unintended consequences — including a decline in gas tax revenue, which they have aimed to reverse with EV fees and taxes that are sometimes double the amount paid by owners of gas-powered cars.

The latest state to adopt increased fees was Texas, where the policy went into effect last month. Seven other states have also imposed taxes at charging stations. In all but one case — Pennsylvania, where partisan control is split — the state governments are controlled by Republicans.

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By Kimberly Kindy
Kimberly Kindy is a national investigative reporter for The Washington Post. In 2015, she was a lead reporter on the paper's Fatal Force project, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and George Polk award. In 2021, she was a lead reporter for a series that won a Gerald Loeb award. Twitter https://twitter.com/kimberlykindy

[underpants]

1. States rely heavily on gas tax

Until someone figures out something else I suspect this will be the norm.

[zeusdogmom]

2. The fee is fair

Your vehicle is being driven on roads paid for in large part by gas taxes. EV owner not buying gas.

Perhaps fee should be based on your average mileage for a year

Alternative - toll roads everywhere (NO!!!!!)

[Wonder Why]

3. No it's not unless it's based on mileage.

[MichMan]

4. Do you want a GPS tracker in your car reporting how many miles you are driving any given day?

"Your credit card on file with the state is being charged  $2.37 for the tax on the miles you drove yesterday"

I don't

[Wonder Why]

6. That's silly. Every year at inspection time, the shop that does it, reports

the mileage to the state here in NC. Instead of a flat fee no matter how much you drive, your tax bill could be based on mileage. Right now it's $140 fixed amount going to $180 next year.

[MichMan]

9. So you should pay your road taxes in one lump sum annually instead of as you fill up a gas tank?

I'm sure a lot of people are going to have the money to pay a years worth of road taxes at once. You think that will go over well with drivers?

[Wonder Why]

11. Where do you get that stuff? NOW, in NC you pay a lump sum every year if you own an EV. It is a fixed amount, not based on mileage.

It could easily be mileage based because you have to have a yearly state inspection to renew your registration and your mileage is recorded by the state at that time.

[MichMan]

12. As EV start replacing ICE vehicles, the road taxes are going to need to be increased to provide the same amount of revenue

A current EV tax of $100-$140 per vehicle is not going to provide an equivalent amount of revenue to what gasoline taxes currently provide. The money to maintain the roads will need to some from somewhere.

The current gas tax I pay in Michigan is 70 cents a gallon (state and federal gas taxes plus sales tax) Considering I live in a rural area and drive 16k miles a year, and my VW gets approx. 30 mpg, that means I currently pay $375 a year in gas taxes. Since I pay every time I fill up, the cost is a few dollars every tankful instead of one lump sum.

Once the vast majority of the fleet is EV, the road taxes will have to go up significantly to provide the same amount of revenue that is currently being collected. If anything, given that EV are much heavier than a comparable ICE vehicle, they could likely increase the amount of road maintenance required. 

[Wonder Why]

15. For me, I drive my vehicles 5K a year. If I had to pay the current $140/yr ($180/yr next year) in taxes,

I'd be getting ripped off even at NC's and Fed's combined $.53/gallon.

I'm not saying nor have I ever said that EVs should not pay a fee in lieu of gas tax. I only said that it should be based on miles driven. Moreover, the fed's portion should not be counted in the state tax because the state keeps the total fee and does not send a portion to the feds. If they reimbursed the feds for their unrealized portion, then it should be included. So to get back to my original statement:

No it's not unless it's based on mileage.

The state has that information. Sending a proportional bill (now added to the registration fee) instead of a fixed amount would be simple, easy, fair and progressive.

[MichMan]

17. My state has no annual inspection, thus no mileage is reported.

I would like road taxes to be based on weight as they were in many states for decades.

[CoopersDad]

7. I would support a FasTrak in every vehicle.

Here in California it's used to access express lanes and pay tolls without stopping.

While I don't love "Lexus Lanes" that force low income drivers to stay in congested lanes, it would be a way to fairly assess all drivers based on what they drive and where they drive instead of a one-size annual fee.

[lostnfound]

5. If I get a hybrid, and burn just a little gas, I can avoid this?

I thought it would be helpful in my retirement to have an electric.

Maybe if I retrofit a small gas motor motor on it, the state will remove the extra fee. Hmm.

I always thought the gas taxes were to pay for oil wars… oh no. I didn’t.

[hunter]

8. Mileage fees seem fair to me, on top of gasoline taxes.

All gasoline car, pay both.

Electric car, just the mileage.

In a better world automobile culture, gasoline or electric, would be dying.

[MichMan]

10. Why should the people least able to buy an EV be taxed double?

How likely will the drivers of ICE vehicles( the majority) vote for the politicians that impose such a tax structure?

[hunter]

13. They are already paying road taxes...

... and resentful of electric car owners getting any kind of free ride.

[MichMan]

14. So, you think adding a mileage tax on top of the gas taxes is fair?

Any politician that proposes that is almost certain to be defeated

[hunter]

18. Electric cars are not "environmentally friendly vehicles." No car is.

We could be rebuilding our cities, turning them into attractive affordable places where car ownership is unnecessary. Instead we are arguing about bullshit like this.

Fine, let's tax all cars exclusively by mileage, and make them pay the entire bill for automobile-only roads and highways. Throw in a carbon tax on gasoline too and use that money to relocate people displaced by global warming..

It's absurd that we, as a society, subsidize both automobiles and fossil fuels. That needs to stop. We need to recognize the true costs of our automobile culture.

[LiberaBlueDem]

16. Tire Tax

50,000 mile tires? Pay a 50,000 mile tax

The more you drive, the more tires you use, the more you pay.

Meanwhile the earth burns and too many of us break out hot dogs and smores