Bill to remove the EV tax credit, and actually add a tax for EVs

Are there states that don't already require mopeds to register?

Considering that their fuel efficiency is not higher in proportion to their lighter weight, I think they are already paying their share in fuel taxes.

Trailers burn gas by proxy, by greatly increasing the fuel consumption of the towing vehicle. So they are not getting by for free.

 

I agree blaming Big Oil for this guy's attitude probably misses the root cause of the guy's viewpoint. Just guessing he is anti-tax and probably pissed that BEV's and hybrids do not pay as much Federal gaso taxes as a F150 pick-up driver in the rural parts. He probably sees the solution keeping gaso taxes lower, but broadening the collection base, and charging more to those escaping the tax base. Except for California, though, it is not a big deal. Many cannot stomach the idea of higher gaso taxes, if so many wealthier drivers can opt out by driving expensive green cars.

PS- My expectation is a Democrat congress in November, and I predict they will extend the BEV credits, or otherwise continue strong incentives, and there will be bipartisan support for this (which does not mean I think that is the correct thing to do, but attractive to elected officials, much like ethanol mandates).

 

i got a mortgage interest deduction, and $6,000. tax credit for installing a new septic system. that's the way government works.
anyone who thinks bev's shouldn't get a tax credit or should pay a special road tax is simply biased.

 

The tax credit worked. We got some electricky cars on the market. Demand and supply introduced, market established. Now it's pork. Well it was always pork, but it was a healthier cut than usual so it was worth it for a while.

 

not nearly enough, still worth it. in fact, they should put a big tax on guzzlers

 

Yeah....then they could party like it's 1978!

 

As in on the eve of the Second Oil Crisis?

 

Why, yes I am.

 

Sorry, I thought you were an erstwhile "Iowegian."

 

septic system credit?

 

No as in when the first gas guzzler tax was passed.....

 

yes, the state is encouraging cesspool replacement with, er, you know, 'financial incentives'.

 

Let us not forget that no matter what type of vehicle we drive there is a lot more to our highway system than road repairs.

Regularly scheduled running surface reshaping or repair
- Regularly scheduled ditch and culvert cleaning, repair
- Yearly brush, tree, snag safety check, removal
- Yearly stream trash removal around channel crossings
- Yearly reseeding and/or fertilizing of cut and fill slopes
- Yearly fence, cattle guard check
- Snow thaw road check and repair
- Storm damage and pollution control structure check and repair
- Seasonal check of signs and notices

Closed-usable

- Periodic dust control near inhabited or work areas
- Pre and post rainy season channel crossing and ditch maintenance
- Storm damage and pollution control structure check and repair
- Yearly brush, tree, snag safety check, removal
- Yearly reseeding and/or fertilizing of cut and fill slopes
- Periodic check of closure controls and signs
- Yearly fence, cattle guard check

Closed-not usable

- Pre and post rainy season channel crossing and ditch maintenance
- Yearly stream trash removal around channel crossings
- Yearly inspection and maintenance of drainage structures
- Road outsloped and/or water barred; channel crossings usually removed
- Periodic check of closure controls and signs

Reactivate-unusable

- Reconstruct channel crossing structures (culverts, etc.)
- Reinstall ditches and cross drains, if needed
- Clear debris, slides, trees; remove hazard trees and brush
- Regrade and finish road surface
- Sign and post as needed
- Check, repair, or install fence as needed
- Reconstruct road to higher standard if necessary

And someone has to pay the police for their services on our highways.

 

a lot of expense, but could easily be covered for all of us by millionaires driving escalades.

 

It would be a moot point if they replaced the gas tax with some other form of tax which factors in vehicle weight and miles driven per year. Look it up in a chart, you owe $X per year toward road repair, maintenance and construction.

I get that EVs are getting a "free ride" with road work funded by gas taxes, but I also don't think something that targets EVs and PHEVs specifically is good policy. Tax based on miles driven somehow, and the EV and PHEV folks already come out ahead by not paying as much for gas and (in most places) fuel on cheaper electricity.

 

While I don't disagree with your proposal, I will point out that one of the reasons we pay for roads through fuel tax is to guarantee collection. So if we back away from that, it may also be opening the system to more abuse. Vehicle odometers have been somewhat hardened against manipulation, but they may not have had as much demand-based effort stacked against them yet.

 

I agree for the most part, but we're getting closer. It will be easier and easier (for better AND for worse) that governmental entities (yes, and insurers) can gather details wirelessly regarding the miles driven. That, combined with appropriate enforcement mechanisms, might go a long way toward ensuring compliance. (Yes, there will always be tax cheats. But are they going to be greater than the number of drivers who pay little or nothing because they drive EVs and PHEVs?)

Frankly, in principle I think that paying road taxes and insurance by the mile makes sense and seems fair in some way... but I do sometimes worry how government and insurers would use the data.

 

Do you suppose nobody's going to try hacking the "gathered details?" I think that one will be a running cat-and-mouse petit tax evasion sport up until we humans are forced off the roads and the robo-cabs take over.

 

Well then, since you are keen to shoot down other people's ideas, what do you propose?

 

I don't have a better idea. I don't think odometer fraud & monitoring system hacking are going to be that bad at first. Worth starting down that road. I'm just trying to draw attention to the likely problem areas while there's time to call it a head start.

If that form of tax evasion remains as no more than a minor nuisance 10 years on, I'd call it a successful transition away from fuel tax.

If it really cracks and you see everyone using 99¢ phone apps to somehow circumvent their mile-o-snitch transponders, then we need to think up plan C real fast.