I just thought this is an interesting news story and was not sure how else to share with you.
https://youtu.be/NwCOKGvfp0A?si=pRuD8cQS0Ttknk-A
From listening to you, it seems their heads are in the clouds regarding the "life-time" savings from EVs.
My thought is that EV producers should be required to build power plants equal to the amount of electricity their cars consume. They should not be allowed to add strain to the existing grid for profit.
If I have a factory with a massive electric furnace, I am also "straining the grid for profit".
Well much better than WA State which wants to charge everyone a per mile tax regardless of if you have a gasoline only car or hybrid or electric.
And remember governments are not in the business of losing money; it was obvious from day one that they would come up with something to make up for the gas tax they're losing when people drive ev or hybrid. They don't care about the environment obviously; it's about their pockets.
Good, EV drivers should pay. I am all for it. Regarding taxing per mile, I am against that - just make it a flat rate regardless of how many miles you drive.
you are essentially paying usage-based tax for gas right now. Should that be a flat rate too?
@MountainManJoe if I drive my EV more than Granny I end up paying more than her already one way or another (between using the supercharger stations, charging at home, wearing out tires, insurance, etc.)
.
Heavier vehicles (like semis) damage roads more than lighter vehicles do. Who should pay the price for that? Should the government charge per weight or maybe charge per category (sedan, truck, semi)?
> "if I drive my EV more than Granny I end up paying more than her already one way or another"
not to your city/state you're not. None of that replaces gas tax.
Commercial vehicles already pay more.
Here’s some reference:
- Texas: gas tax rate = $0.20 / gallon (one of the cheapest in the nation); EV registration fee = $200 (this is $400 if purchasing brand new EV). The $200 fee is one of the highest in the nation.
- Arkansas: gas tax rate = $0.25 / gallon; EV registration fee = $200
- California: gas tax rate = $0.58 / gallon; EV registration fee = $175
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-registration-fees-cost-versus-gasoline-tax-2023-8
Is it a one time fee, or recurring?
These fees are annual so recurring.
it's about their pockets.
Gas taxes often go towards maintaining roads, which EVs also use.
Yes but in that case they can charge those using ev a certain added fee when renewing their tabs, not adding a per mile tax for everyone.
@fjcruiser2014
It makes more sense to me to charge per mile.
Grandma going 2 miles down the road to get milk every week should not have to pay the same as Bob driving 100 miles to work twice a day.
Gas tax is basically per-use fee .
Grandma going 2 miles down the road is using less gas than Bob driving 100 miles which means grandma is filling up her gas tank less thus paying less gas tax.
@fjcruiser2014
exactly. That's my point. If they're gassing up their cars, then they are paying tax based on the amount they drive.
Now if grandma and Bob both buy electrics, they should pay per mile.
If you charge them per tag (I confess I'm not too familiar with this system) then aren't you charging them both the same?
If they do this for electric cars only that's fine; but what they're doing is regardless of EV or gas or hybrid; this is what makes it ridiculous in my opinion. Voters voted for $20 flat rate for tabs; guess what? The WA State politicians said no the vote is not constitutional!! If they want to charge per mile then tab fees should be a low set flat rate.
And with tabs even right now everyone is being charged the same. Well actually not the same; we pay based off of where we live. For example me living in Seattle which will never use the Light Rail is paying much more than someone living in a place where they will use it.
@fjcruiser2014
> "they're doing is regardless of EV or gas or hybrid"
the title of this topic is literally "Texas levies extra fee to register electric vehicles"
> "we pay based off of where we live"
infrastructure costs are different in different places
I explicitly stated WA State in my example so not sure how you're relating it to Texas?! I said "it's better than WA State that they want to do this regardless of ev or not."
Again if you had read my comments fully I said I live in Seattle and pay the most for a light rail that I will never use while those living up north who will actually use it pay close to nothing. Again my specific comment was about Seattle and WA State. If they're going to charge everyone in WA State a tax per mile then they should do the same when it comes to tabs.
I see. I misread, my bad. Yeah people who buy gas in Washington are already paying enough.
No worries. Yes as someone who lives in Seattle I can't wrap my head around it when like this example people complain about a tiny bit more of taxes. Seattle is basically the new California.
Yup. almost North California . Oregon is not far behind
Texas: gas tax rate = $0.20 / gallon; EV registration fee = $200
In other words, the registration fee is equivalent to buying 1,000 gallons of fuel.
The average gas fuelled vehicle would need drive about 22,000 miles, to pay the amount in taxes equivalent to that registration fee.
Or if you look at it another way ....
Lets say people keep EV's for 10 years (I didn't find any data on this)
The average person will drive 135,000 miles in 10 years. An ICE vehicle will consume 6,000 gallons of fuel in that time, and pay $1,225 in taxes. The EV owner will have paid $200 in taxes in those 10 years, or $1,000 less.
So the state is still losing $1,000 of taxes per EV purchased. Lets see how roads will look like if this continues.
(assuming it's a one-time reg fee)
The registration fee is every year, so re-current. So in your example it would cost $2,000 in EV reg fees after 10 years assuming the fee is constant and doesn’t go up.
Got it. So most EV owners paying more. They won't tell them that at the dealership will they.
We will see what happens over time with the fees. Maybe some states switch to a fee based on mileage driven. Only thing is how would they be able to validate the mileage? If it’s based on self reporting, some owners may lie.
The answer is surveillance. Cameras that register your plate. Which of course people won't like. Realistically, I don't see it happening. At least not right now. But ... scare people enough with some kind of threat and they'll be more willing to swallow it.
BTW, in my home state of California where it’s $0.58 / gallon and annual EV fee is $175, that same annual fee is equivalent to only 301 gallons (about 1/3 of the Texas example).
.
Assuming 22 mpg for an ICE vehicle, that means I would have to drive 6,622 miles in a year to be on par with that EV fee. In my case, I easily put on 20,000 miles a year so I’d be paying $527 gas tax. $527 vs $175, and that adds up over 10 years.
.
Although I will still take my ICE vehicle any day over an EV.
well California is an upside down place. Highest taxes in the country and it looks like this
