EVs Mooch Off, Do Not Pay Fair Share for Road Usage

[srnyoung]

Use fees (i.e. gas taxes and registration fees) make up 50% or less of road maintenance and construction costs. This is a farcical discussion on its face.
(As is, 'bikes don't pay taxes either!!!!' and yet even in Oregon, there is now a bike tax on new bikes over a certain $ value. )

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[ndmiller]

So the myth goes.

While EVs do not pay gasoline taxes, states do make sure that EVs still pay a so-called fair share through much higher annual registration fees levied on EVs only.

Let me fix it into facts as there is no myth here.

1. EVs do not pay gasoline taxes as they don't use gasoline.
2. Some jurisdictions charge owners of EV passenger vehicles more to register than a comparable ICE and/or Hybrid passenger vehicles.
3. In some jurisdictions registering an EV is a free pass to use HOV lanes

In my case this free pass in GA saves me at least 1 hour a day if not 2. Multiply it by my work rate and I would pay 10X-50X (yes 50X is ~$13K) the current EV up charge to get unrestricted HOV lane access. The more they charge, the less people in HOV (Other EV registrants) in my way and time is infinitely more valuable than money for me.

 

[JohnB R1T]

Let me fix it into facts as there is no myth here.

1. EVs do not pay gasoline taxes as they don't use gasoline.
2. Some jurisdictions charge owners of EV passenger vehicles more to register than a comparable ICE and/or Hybrid passenger vehicle.

What is the point of your pontification? Nobody who has posted on this has said anything inconsistent with "the facts" as you present them. Have we uncovered a "closet fact checker here"?


[Edit note: The poster to whom I replied "edited in" bullet point #3 and all subsequent commentary AFTER my comment above was posted. I quoted his entire (at the time) post. I stand by my comment above]

 

[tjrivian]

but the tax on electricity isn't allocated to funding roads

Of course, but what is the tax on electricity going to fund? If it's funding anything other than strictly investments that help to provide future electricity, then someone is now collecting more tax revenue than they otherwise would have collected when a gas car owner that currently pays the gas tax converts to an EV and now pays extra electricity taxes on the electricity they use to charge the EV.

 

[electruck]

Of course, but what is the tax on electricity going to fund? If it's funding anything other than strictly investments that help to provide future electricity, then someone is now collecting more tax revenue than they otherwise would have collected when a gas car owner that currently pays the gas tax converts to an EV and now pays extra electricity taxes on the electricity they use to charge the EV.

Paying 2 different taxes to fund 2 different things is not the same as being double taxed. Paying tax on electricity, in theory, pays for maintaining the electric infrastructure. Paying EV registration fees or gas tax, in theory, is paying for road infrastructure.

Here in TX, schools are funded partially from property taxes and partially from gas taxes (and perhaps from additional sources I am not aware of). That also is not the same as being double taxed.

 

[tjrivian]

Paying 2 different taxes to fund 2 different things is not the same as being double taxed. Paying tax on electricity, in theory, pays for maintaining the electric infrastructure. Paying EV registration fees or gas tax, in theory, is paying for road infrastructure.

There are taxes on my electricity bill that are calculated based on the amount of electricity I consume, even though they don't go towards maintaining the electric infrastructure. There are other "delivery charges" that are also calculated based on how much electricity I consume, but those go directly to the (investor owned, not public) utility. I'm not talking about those. I'm specifically talking about the taxes that go to the state/county/city government. They're getting that extra tax revenue only because my car runs on electricity rather than on gas. That extra tax revenue they receive from EV owners should not go to the general fund, it should go towards paying for the shortfall in the roads budget that was created when I switched from powering my car with gas to electric.

 

[Old Kid]

This can be spun in a lot of different ways. Big picture EV's are here to reduce pollution (CO2, nitrogen, and particulate matter). The value of the benefit probably outweighs the harm to roads, and while 7K seems like a lot for a truck, commercial vehicles can weigh much more. But that cost is not passed on to commercial vehicles since they are necessary for commerce and such. Although some states just use the fee/tax to discourage EV's. Either way, I got a $7500 credit so there isn't much for me to complain about.

 

[lefkonj]

Plenty of states, like NJ, started charging a EV registration fee to recoup the lost gas tax. Roads have to be paid for somehow and this is fine.

 

[tjrivian]

Plenty of states, like NJ, started charging a EV registration fee to recoup the lost gas tax. Roads have to be paid for somehow and this is fine.

That one's really confusing. NJ went from having no extra reg fee and NO SALES TAX on EVs to having both an extra reg fee and sales tax. Quite the policy reversal.

 

[lefkonj]

That one's really confusing. NJ went from having no extra reg fee and NO SALES TAX on EVs to having both an extra reg fee and sales tax. Quite the policy reversal.

EV adoption has picked up significantly, have to get the money somehow. Its all good I don't really care, potholes break our tires which aren't cheap either.

 

[ndmiller]

What is the point of your pontification? Nobody who has posted on this has said anything inconsistent with "the facts" as you present them. Have we uncovered a "closet fact checker here"?


[Edit note: The poster to whom I replied "edited in" bullet point #3 and all subsequent commentary AFTER my comment above was posted. I quoted his entire (at the time) post. I stand by my comment above]

There is no myth, that's the point, read the OP post and read my quote. Reading is fundamental try it sometime.

[edit note: The person who I quoted read the OP note and my post and finally got the point. I stand by my comments above]

 

[Singletracker]

Plenty of states, like NJ, started charging a EV registration fee to recoup the lost gas tax. Roads have to be paid for somehow and this is fine.

I agree. The concept is fine, but the devil is in the details. Charging every Rivian owner the same registration fee, at least that portion related to a road tax, is not equitable. If I drive my Rivian 8,000 miles per year and pay the same road tax registration fee as somebody who drives 25,000 miles per year, where’s the fairness in that? Why should my cost to use the roads be more per mile than that high mileage driver. That’s why I think the road tax portion of an EV registration fee should be based on miles driven per year. The person who uses the roads more should pay more. A gasoline tax is more equitable. With an ICEV the more you drive, the more gas you have to buy, the more tax you pay.

In my state, whenever I register my cars, I have to note the odometer reading. Presumably, this information could be used to adjust registration fees. Maybe, in the first year of EV ownership, a flat fee would be charged to all. In subsequent years, a driver’s registration fee would be adjusted, based on miles driven in the previous year. That 25K mile driver would get an additional fee tacked on in the second year. The very low mileage driver would get a credit from the base fee. Anyway, just a thought. I realize implementation may be easier said than done. However, whatever the system, it should be, at least, reasonably fair. Just saying you own an EV so we are going to stick you with some random, universal tax, that may have no correlation, whatsoever, to one’s actual road usage, doesn’t seem right. IMHO.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

*points to sign* ALL VEHICLE OWNERS ARE SUBSIDIZED, NONE BEAR THE FULL COST OF ROAD MAINTENANCE

It's definitely true that EVs cause significantly more wear and tear than other vehicles on our roads, due to them weighing significantly more than non-EV vehicles. That said, the way we build and maintain our roadways is the real fiscal timebomb, not the lack of gas taxes. From the moment your municipality built the 4 lane stroad to your suburb, they were plunging themselves into massive debt.

All car owners are heavily subsidized. None actually pair their fair share. If we cared about actually building fiscally sustainable infrastructure, you'd have way more protected bike lanes and pedestrian bridges everywhere instead of expressways and massive parking lots.

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

In my state, EVs cost an additional $225 to register (of which only $150 goes to roads). The average gas car pays about $260 in state gas tax (not counting federal). So gas drivers still pay more towards roads.

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