Elon's Not Gonna Like This! Over 84,000 drivers could face new pay-per-mile fee.
Oregonians could soon be joining Hawaiians as the only Americans subject to mandatory pay-per-mile fees for electric vehicles (EV).
Lawmakers were in session Friday as the state looks to fill a $300 million void in the transportation budget that threatens funds for road repairs and snowplowing.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) proposed an EV road usage charge that is equivalent to 5 percent of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.
The usage charge would phase in starting in 2027 for certain EVs and expand to include hybrids in 2028. Should the gas tax increase be approved, EV drivers would either pay about 2.3 cents per mile or choose an annual flat fee of $340. Drivers in the program wouldn’t have to pay supplemental registration fees.
Hawaii’s road usage charge
Hawaii introduced its mandated road usage charge initiative in 2023 as a means for replacing the projected void of fuel tax revenue as more fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars continue to become more commonplace.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5478550-84000-drivers-new-pay-per-mile-fee/
The dirty little secret is that Americans have been paying all sorts of different taxes that are not income-based for use of the public roads for over a hundred years.
There are weight-based vehicle registration taxes, vehicle cost-based registration vehicle taxes, state gas taxes that don't account for fuel effeciency (or lack thereof), vehicle registration taxes for hybrids and SUVs, toll taxes that are supposed to take care of the cost of maintaining those roads or bridges, federal gas taxes... taxes, taxes and yet more taxes.
While these two pay-per-mile taxes might seem to be fair, they still add yet another level of bureaucracy and nonetheless causes people with EVs to be taxed differently than people with gas or diesel powered vehicles.
A more progressive way of dealing with this would be to forget about state and federal fuel taxes entirely. Let the states collect their needed highway and street funds from a standardized vehicle registration fee, bumped up for a portion of it going to the feds (based on the number of mileage lanes of federal highways in their state). The vehicle registration fee could have a portion of it mileage-based by having the DMV or certified stations collect the odometer data at registration renewal time.
And then have the states and the federal government give a graduated tax credit for middle and low income taxpayers that would be applied against their vehicle registration costs.
I can already hear certain people on SW (now, I am not naming any names but you know who you are) who will decry that Canadians and Mexicans won't be paying taxes when they drive their cars across the border. F*ck that nonsense. We should WANT tourism dollars. (Commercial vehicles are a different animal and can be dealt with differently.)
There is absolutely no good reason (and the "enviromentalists" will HATE this comment) to give subsidies, tax credits, lower registration fees and the ability to avoid gas taxes to people earning six+ figures of income simply because they can afford to buy a highly fuel efficient or an electric vehicle that stickers for more than twice to up to even eight times (Telsa Model X) the poverty level.
Lawmakers were in session Friday as the state looks to fill a $300 million void in the transportation budget that threatens funds for road repairs and snowplowing.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) proposed an EV road usage charge that is equivalent to 5 percent of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.
The usage charge would phase in starting in 2027 for certain EVs and expand to include hybrids in 2028. Should the gas tax increase be approved, EV drivers would either pay about 2.3 cents per mile or choose an annual flat fee of $340. Drivers in the program wouldn’t have to pay supplemental registration fees.
Hawaii’s road usage charge
Hawaii introduced its mandated road usage charge initiative in 2023 as a means for replacing the projected void of fuel tax revenue as more fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars continue to become more commonplace.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5478550-84000-drivers-new-pay-per-mile-fee/
The dirty little secret is that Americans have been paying all sorts of different taxes that are not income-based for use of the public roads for over a hundred years.
There are weight-based vehicle registration taxes, vehicle cost-based registration vehicle taxes, state gas taxes that don't account for fuel effeciency (or lack thereof), vehicle registration taxes for hybrids and SUVs, toll taxes that are supposed to take care of the cost of maintaining those roads or bridges, federal gas taxes... taxes, taxes and yet more taxes.
While these two pay-per-mile taxes might seem to be fair, they still add yet another level of bureaucracy and nonetheless causes people with EVs to be taxed differently than people with gas or diesel powered vehicles.
A more progressive way of dealing with this would be to forget about state and federal fuel taxes entirely. Let the states collect their needed highway and street funds from a standardized vehicle registration fee, bumped up for a portion of it going to the feds (based on the number of mileage lanes of federal highways in their state). The vehicle registration fee could have a portion of it mileage-based by having the DMV or certified stations collect the odometer data at registration renewal time.
And then have the states and the federal government give a graduated tax credit for middle and low income taxpayers that would be applied against their vehicle registration costs.
I can already hear certain people on SW (now, I am not naming any names but you know who you are) who will decry that Canadians and Mexicans won't be paying taxes when they drive their cars across the border. F*ck that nonsense. We should WANT tourism dollars. (Commercial vehicles are a different animal and can be dealt with differently.)
There is absolutely no good reason (and the "enviromentalists" will HATE this comment) to give subsidies, tax credits, lower registration fees and the ability to avoid gas taxes to people earning six+ figures of income simply because they can afford to buy a highly fuel efficient or an electric vehicle that stickers for more than twice to up to even eight times (Telsa Model X) the poverty level.
36-40, F
