Now I have to pay an extra tax because my car’s mileage is too good?

Photo above - that was then, this is now. In April 2024 California's governor Newsom uses a state subsidized EV charger as a campaign prop. This year Newsom introduced a new $290 annual fee to register your EV.

Reversal of fortune – now everyone may have to pay EXTRA fees to register a hybrid or EV, instead of getting a tax rebate. Who thought this was a good idea? Wait . . . don’t tell me . . . politicians who can’t balance their states' budgets by relying on existing income taxes, property taxes, capital gains taxes, sales tax, liquor and alcohol tax, hotel tax, recreational marijuana tax, and speed traps. Gasoline sales are down, thanks to America’s pivot to hybrids and EVs. Politicians are adding new car registration fees in revenge.

The two biggest state offenders on this list are Michigan (link below) and California, whose $290 annual registration fee won’t take effect until 2028. Is Newsom hoping everyone will have forgotten about it by then? Or does he plan to repeal it with a lavish press conference just before the election, as campaign tactic? "I'm letting you keep more of your paycheck. Vote for me."

There’s also a list (KLRD link at bottom) which supposedly shows all the states which are picking our pockets on hybrids and EVs. But the list is not accurate. Where my mom lives (Delaware) there’s already a new $60 fee on NON-plug-in hybrids. Here in Florida, there’s going to be a $200 fee for EVs, $50 for hybrids, and $100 for each electric motorcycle. (Has anyone actually seen a Harley Davidson Live Wire electric motorcycle in the wild? Who is the target audience for that thing? Deaf biker gangs?)

Some environmentally concerned observers might say that recharging your EV – which is possibly connected to a coal burning electric plant – makes the world dirtier. Which would be true unless nobody has solar panels on their roof, nor buys power from wind turbine or solar farm. You have to pay the EV tax even if you generate your own electricity, off grid.

Is anyone surprised that it only took the blink of an eye for politicians to figure out that hybrids and EVs are a sneaky way to pick our pockets? That California (Governor Newsom) and Michigan (Governor Whitmer) are at the head of this EV tax hike line. Or that their governors are running for president?

Every time gasoline pump prices miraculously edge down, tax and spend politicians in DC introduce legislation to increase the federal gas tax. Their rationale is bat-shit-crazy: people were paying more for gas last year, without the new tax, therefore they won't care if we raise taxes now.

Look over your shoulder, everyone. Gasoline prices today are near 3-year lows. America is entering the era of higher gas taxes AND mind-bending EV assessments. The message couldn't be clearer: stay home and leave your car in the garage. Turn down your thermostat and dim the lights off to reduce your electric bill. We are edging into 3rd world territory when it comes to government energy policy.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

[center]Officials move forward with new law that could make car ownership more expensive: 'Raising … fees to the highest in the country'

States’ Fees for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles – KLRD

Your EV Car Registration In Florida May Cost You An Extra $200/Year | eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title

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