Congress proposes shocking new fee on EVs

[jimfigler]

Almost no states have annual inspections, though some have emissions testing in certain areas.

NY does

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[TaxmanHog]

Mass has a "Safety" inspection same fee as an ICE vehicle "Safety & Emissions" test. $35 annually.

 

[Prodigy]

Doesn’t surprise me. Politicians for the people? Yeah right. They only find ways to keep taking money anyway possible.

 

[davehu]

That's cool but seems way overcomplicated. Every state does an annual inspection on vehicles. Have them submit the odometer reading to the Fed and state governments during inspection like banks due when you earn interest. Subtract from last year's reading and voilà: that's your usage. Make the tax due on sale or if the vehicle is totaled in an accident too. Don't need inspections or don't do them? Then just have people self report and have high penalties for fraudulent behavior. We rely on self reporting when much, much more money is involved when tax day comes around.

There are many drivers on the road today that don't drive anywhere close to the average 10K annually. Farmers that use their truck predominantly on the farm, the elderly, the retired, remote workers, etc.

On the flip side of the equation too this means people who drive more than the average are getting a heck of a deal.

Sorry I'm ranting (not at you; hopefully it didn't come off that way). It just annoys me so much when we have the means and existing infrastructure to do something fair and we whiff it.

correction. a lot of states have inspections but not all. my state of Arkansas does not have annual inspections and upon checking I saw at least 14 other states in the same category

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

I think, what we save on gas per year is far more than what we would pay if that fee/tax was passed. Especially someone like me that has almost 70k, in 1.5 years, on the clock. $250 was what I was spending about every 2.5 weeks when I had my 2014 F150.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Except, as I understand it, most jurisdictions syphon away a lot of the 'road tax' for other things, nothing to do with roads or bridges...

 

[Danface]

In almost all states, there are two excise taxes on fuel, a state and a federal tax.

This represents only the federal taxes that applies to ALL states.

They could add a line entry on Form 720 for business entities, and then a line entry on form 1040 for individual/personal entities.

EDIT:

BTW, LUST isn't what you might think it is, it's "Leaking Underground Storage Tank"

I now know my next vehicle, the Stanley Steamer ran on kerosene. Let's take America Back(wards). Thanks @TaxmanHog!

 

[MaintGrl]

Can we start impounding cars driving for months/years on out of state plates? I bet if everyone actually paid their fair share, the economics would look a whole lot different.

Ya, there is a "beater" up the street from me that has been driving on Paper Plates for nearly a year....

 

[daczone]

Don't think so.

Oregon charges a $115 EV fee...

I just bought my Lightning... YES $970 + $200 for personal plates.

In Oregon $316 if the vehicle is all electric.

The higher your MPG is the MORE you pay.

My $970 Is for 4 years and does include Title and plate fee. The $316 is every 2 years. The County I live in also add's $112 every 2 years.

 

[daczone]

https://insideevs.com/news/758215/federal-tax-ev-registration-250/

 

[Jseis]

Roads require maintenance. Who yah gonna call? The steep sloped, rain addled soil (typically marine terraced sediments millions of years old) of our coastal area means side cuts and fills constantly slumping, out of grade. That and 100 year old thin bases on secondary two lane make freeways a heavenly ride. The Lightning handles our roads very well and kudos to the IRS tuning. Ultimately, road taxes favor urban areas and for our rural areas, we get the basics, guardrail repairs, cold and occasional hot patching, lane stripping, tree-brush removal/mowing, sign repair/replacement. De-icing and sanding are rare due to $$$.

 

[VTHokies]

Texas tax is $.20 per gallon on gas or diesel.
So $80=400 gallons at .20/gallon which would be about 8000 miles at 20 miles to the gallon so our fee should probably be $100-$150 not $200!

Federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel.

I think I remember reading that they included the Fed tax as well when coming up with the $200…

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

If my EV is avoiding road tax, that I will have to pay separtely for it's fair share of the road cost,... but I also have an ICE
- so it should have an "AIR Tax" to pay it's fair share of removing the pollution it adds to the air??

 

[chl]

Va has had a road use fee for hybrids and EVs for quite a while, but in 2022 they made it "fairer" by starting a program, Virginia Mileage Choice, that bases the fee on the miles driven in a year up to max fee cap (the fee that would have been charged at registration renewal).

So for our Prius hybrid we pay 0.5810 of a cent per Mile up to a max of $67.40.

For our 2012 Leaf we pay 1.0040 of a cent per Mile up to a max of $116.49.
For the Lightning we pay 1.0040 of a cent per Mile up to a max of $128.14.

I don't remember why the cap is different for the Lightning and the Leaf, I assume it is the weight difference.

The cap is lower on the Prius because it uses gas and pays the gas tax/road use fee at the pump.

The program saved about $20 in fees for the Prius's driving year (based on registration date), over $114 for the Leaf which doesn't get driven much since I bought the Lightning, and will probably save fees for the Lightning as well - it's year started in Jan 2025 because that's when the registration came due for the first time, so too soon to tell.

They base the fee on an average expected yearly driving of something like 11.6k miles for sedans, with additional $11.65 for the Lightning due to weight I guess, or maybe because ICE F-150s would burn more gas and pay more gas taxes/use fees [EDIT: rate calculation explained below]

You have to put an OBD tracking/GPS device in the vehicle, but the privacy policy says it will not be disclosed to 3rd parties, like insurance companies, or to the police/FBI etc. without a warrant.

It can give you a safe driving "score" however, which tends to make me drive better to try to get 100%, which I usually do.

I presume Ford also has much the same data about the Lightning use as well anyway.

Some other states have a similar plan. If you live in VA here's the link.

https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/taxes-fees/mileage-choice


The HUF’s calculation is based on:

• The vehicle's fuel efficiency (combined miles per gallon (MPG) rating)
• The fuel tax rate at the time the vehicle was registered (updated annually July 1)
• The average number of miles driven by all Virginians
• HUF is 85% of the difference between taxes paid by a vehicle with a 23.7 rating and taxes paid by a vehicle using the manufacturer's combined MPG rating based on the average miles driven by all Virginians

HUF= [((11,600 average miles traveled * fuels tax rate) / 23.7) - ((11,600 average miles traveled * fuels tax rate) / vehicle's MPG rating)] * .85

Refer to the HUF chart below for the current fuels tax rate.

 

[ashadkc9]

I live in Sam Graves' jurisdiction and sent his office a message. In Missouri we already pay for an alternative fuel decal for this purpose and its already more than what I would pay in gasoline. Unless they are going to phase that decal out in favor of a federal line item, its double taxation and is not at all fair.

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