Highway Funding Bill Includes $130 Annual Fee on Electric Vehicle Owners
This is bipartisan. Yes, even the Democrats are okay with it.
The Washington Examiner reported that the bipartisan highway funding bill includes a surprise for electric vehicle owners.
Those owners could face a $130 annual fee with a $5 increase every two years until the fee hits $150 for electric vehicles and $50 for plug-in hybrids:
Section 1129. Registration fee on motor vehicles.
This section requires the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration to impose an annual registration fee to be collected by each state of $130 for a covered electric vehicle (EV) and $35 for a covered plug-in hybrid vehicle. Beginning in 2029, the Administrator is required to biennially increase both fee amounts by $5, stipulating that the fee for covered EVs will not exceed $150 and the fee for covered plug-in hybrids will not exceed $50. To ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, the Administrator is directed to withhold an amount equal to 125 percent of the amount owed from the state’s highway apportionment if a state does not comply.
“The bill also strengthens the Highway Trust Fund by ensuring all highway users pay their share for the use and improvement of the nation’s roads,” the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure wrote in its press release. “As a result, the BUILD America 250 Act injects the Highway Trust Fund with its first new stream of revenue for infrastructure in over three decades.”
Apparently, electric vehicles hinder the government’s ability to make money:
Infrastructure experts have long warned that the increased use of electric vehicles could severely deplete funding for the nation’s roads and bridges. That’s because the federal government funds upkeep for infrastructure projects through the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.
Critics of electric vehicles have long argued that their owners use the nation’s roads and bridges, but don’t pay for the upkeep.
Remember, this is bipartisan. Yes, even the Democrats are okay with it.
“You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league infrastructure,” said Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA). “The BUILD America 250 Act makes key investments in the nation’s transportation – from restoring aging bridges and repairing crumbling roads to building out safe, accessible transit and bike infrastructure. A commitment to bipartisan lawmaking means finding compromise; while this bill does not include every priority, I am committed to building on the last bipartisan infrastructure law by creating good-paying transportation jobs, growing the economy and safely transporting people and goods across the country by road and rail. Thank you to Chairman Graves for his partnership. I look forward to marking up this bill soon.”
Amazing.
Electric vehicle owners in Illinois already pay $100 more for a standard vehicle registration, which is $151.
The Democrats want them to pay a $320 surcharge. That means the EV owners would pay $471 per year in Illinois.
I’ll stick with my 100% gas-powered Toyota 4Runner.
Here’s a report from North Carolina. The states already get to you. Here comes Uncle Sam!
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
less taxation! is better
want to destroy the communistnazi dnc??
more capitalism lower taxes and non stop ads on their hate for blks!
Good! About time.
My son will go crazy, he has a Tesla
ot interesting story: a jewish fundraising commercial put on hold:
Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian issued the May 8 ruling against Kars4Kids and its jingle featuring children dancing and singing. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by a California man who argued that the ad prominently features young children, even though some of the proceeds are directed toward programs benefiting Israel trips for elder teens.
…. to stop broadcasting in California.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-bans-kars4kids-jingle-california-citing-misleading-advertising-rcna345648
Ridiculous decision. Only an idiot would see an ad featuring 10-year-olds and assume that the funds being raised were only for kids of that age and not anyone younger or older. Suppose most of the money were going to preschools, or neonatal clinics, would the donors have been misled?!
Likewise no one automatically assumes a charity they give to is based in their state, and will be spending its money in that state. It doesn’t work that way. A California charity is entitled to raise money in New York, and a Florida charity is entitled to raise money in Illinois.
Helping underprivileged kids (whether they’re 6 or 16) go to summer camp and learn something about their heritage is a legitimate charitable purpose, and it makes no difference if those are Christian camps, or sport camps, or whatever.
Electric cars are heavier than their gas-powered equivalents, because of their battery packs. It follows that they cause more road wear, as a result, and thus their owners should pay more, for road maintenance.
“ The bill also strengthens the Highway Trust Fund by ensuring all highway users pay their share for the use and improvement of the nation’s roads”
Is that something like the social security lockbox?
It’s a good thing the government be lookin out for the common folk like this. A real good thing they done it.
Not good before an election
The fundamental reason for a road tax is to obtain funding for bridge and highway construction and repair. Until the advent of the EV the fairest way to collect that money based on gasoline used, the assumption being that volume of gas used is a function of vehicle size and weight or miles traveled or a mixture of both. Since EV’s do use the roads they should contribute to their maintenance. The flat fee approach is much easier to administer than some calculated formula based on vehicle weight and miles traveled as that would require burdensome administrative needs.
Two thoughts. The average EV owner is a Democrat who wasn’t voting Republican anyway, and frankly most EV’s are in blue states .
Next, I believe that it will be the insurance companies who kill off EV’s because any accident which impinges on the battery area often results in the car being totaled since the battery must be replaced for liability reasons.
Leave a Comment