The following article was in today’s Washington Post regarding EV’s and Highway Taxes. I mentioned the gas tax issue in an email last week.
The Republican Lawmakers are not incorrect, however their methods for rectifying the gas tax situation in some cases will not work.
I have owned an EV for six years. It was delivered on October 16, 2017. I haven’t paid highway taxes for that entire time, despite the vehicle weighing 5400 pounds. That is almost as much as the Heaviest Ford F-150 pickup truck.
A fairer way to collect taxes would be when any vehicle is inspected, a calculation could be done to assess highway taxes based upon vehicle weight and mileage driven. It could be included in the inspection fees. Federal Highway Taxes could be collected at the same time. The only downside is that when taxes are paid at the pump, it is a series of small payments. Assessing it annually would be onerous for some people although they could allow for payments plans. People that didn’t pay could have their cars booted in the same manner as people that don’t pay their parking tickets. Although with new cars essentially being rolling computers, it would be possible to remotely disable a vehicle for non-payment without having to boot it. If it was an EV, it would also be possible to disable charging until the fee was paid.
I also question how Ron DeSantis will ensure that Internal Combustion Vehicles will be available to the US Residents after 2035 when the major vehicle manufacturers have all said that they will not be making them after that date. It will not be government forcing them to buy EV’s. It will be the vehicle manufacturers.
Rich
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.
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