SalisburySam said:
Yes, and that's just from the purchase event. In North Carolina and a few other states, EV's are blessed with a flat fee at annual registration ($135 in NC), presumably to supplement the gas taxes EV owners don't pay.
Washington State residents get a slightly schizophrenic message. EV's are exempt from the 6.5% State Sales Tax, but then get to pay $150/yr to register the car.
As odd as it sounds, this is actually a sensible approach. It provides an incentive to purchase an EV (~$2500 on a Bolt), then effectively funnels some of that out of the general fund and into roads (in lieu of fuel taxes).
Oregon, however is looking at a much more convoluted approach. You will have a GPS enabled device on you car that will track when you are on public roads in Oregon, and you will then pay a per mile fee. All this will be administered by a combination of third parties and the State of Oregon. The logic is that you will only pay for "what you use". The problem is that
maybe 50 cents on the dollar will actually make it to support roads. They've also established a 1.5 cents per mile rate. It is in the "Test Stage" and signing up is voluntary. The big problem with the structure is that it penalizes those that drive efficient vehicles. The "break even" is 20 mpg. If you drive an SUV that gets 15 mpg, you will pay LESS under this program than you would pay in fuel taxes. If you drive anything that gets better than 20 mpg, you will pay MORE than if you paid fuel taxes at the pump. Add in that vehicles with lower fuel economy tend to be heavier and cause more road wear and the "what were they thinking?" factor increases.
It is inevitable that EV's will be asked to pay for their share of roads (currently funded by fuel taxes), but it needs to be equitable. Based on vehicle weight? Or even MSRP would be a better indicator.
