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[ctrlburn]

I think most people agree with that, and that was the logic behind a fuel tax. Larger vehicles consume more fuel, as do vehicles that put on more mileage, so the more wear you put on the roads, the more you're paying for the upkeep. Pretty elegant solution, actually. It's only a first-order approximation, but that's a lot better than the government does in many areas.

Except loaded trucks are well documented to do roughly 10,000 times as much damage as a car and so these 11% of the vehicles account for 98% of the road wear. Yet the trucking industry only pays 35% of of the road taxes.  So the current imbalance in fuel taxes is not an elegant solution, just an elegant diversion, typical of the government in most areas.  Diesel cars also pay this higher fuel tax, another inequity unadjusted in the minds of government.

Motorcycles only do an imperceptible amount of road wear, and should really be exempt from fuel road taxes based on the road wear model.  Like they have non-road use diesel (which actually damages roads as little as a motorcycle when trucks cart it around for their reefers), they should have tax exempt motorcycle gasoline.   BUT they don't because politician's math skills are limited to fund raising and gerrymandering - not equity.

Perhaps just a sore spot for me. But I'm not thrilled by an EV road tax.

[ZeroToHero]

I'm somewhat willing to pay, just not based on mileage. If you do the calculations of gas tax per mile driven as compared to a flat rate for driving an EV, you have to drive A LOT in order to make most of those flat rates reasonable.

People who drive less, but a lot in cities would pay much more than is reasonable and should be encouraged to drive an EV, not discouraged.

[Erasmo]

Except loaded trucks are well documented to do roughly 10,000 times as much damage as a car and so these 11% of the vehicles account for 98% of the road wear. Yet the trucking industry only pays 35% of of the road taxes.  So the current imbalance in fuel taxes is not an elegant solution, just an elegant diversion, typical of the government in most areas.  Diesel cars also pay this higher fuel tax, another inequity unadjusted in the minds of government.

Motorcycles only do an imperceptible amount of road wear, and should really be exempt from fuel road taxes based on the road wear model.  Like they have non-road use diesel (which actually damages roads as little as a motorcycle when trucks cart it around for their reefers), they should have tax exempt motorcycle gasoline.   BUT they don't because politician's math skills are limited to fund raising and gerrymandering - not equity.

Perhaps just a sore spot for me. But I'm not thrilled by an EV road tax.

The whole idea of a EV road tax is dazzling to me, on the other hand you get rebates when buying but then they charge the lot back?
Here road tax is calculated by weight and fuel type. Diesel vehicles generally travel more kilometres per year so their tax is higher, EV's are exempt for now. Nice and simple.

[Richard230]

Bureaucrats hate "simple".     It just "goes against the grain".   

[JLibrarian]

Legislators in Michigan have been discussing an annual fee for electric vehicles and hybrids to help make up for the lack of road funds also.  The proposed price isn't bad, $75 for anything under 8,000 lbs and $200 for anything over, but what it seems to come down to is the attitude that owners of these vehicles are "cheating" the system.  I'll happily pay the $75 fee knowing that it's more than made up for in never needing gas, but don't paint me as a schemer for trying to leave less of a footprint on the environment.  The automakers who build these vehicles here have spoken out against the fee out of fear that it will deter consumers from purchasing their products.  I guess we shall have to wait and see how it turns out.

[mrwilsn]

I don't mind paying a fee for a road tax since we don't pay gas tax....as long as they actually use it to build and maintain roads.  Over the last 5-6 years the roads in the US have gotten better but there is still a lot of work to do and then keep up with the maintenance.  If the trend continues I don't mind paying.

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[Richard230]

I don't mind paying a fee for a road tax since we don't pay gas tax....as long as they actually use it to build and maintain roads.  Over the last 5-6 years the roads in the US have gotten better but there is still a lot of work to do and then keep up with the maintenance.  If the trend continues I don't mind paying.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

That is the problem that California has with its gas tax.  The state has a reputation for using money collected for road maintenance for other things, such as dealing with social issues and other legislative pet projects, instead of using the funds to maintain roads.  Since they always want to "tax the guy behind the tree", instead of raising fuel taxes (which haven't been raised for many years) they want to tax electric vehicle owners because they all drive Teslas and can afford a new tax.  Plus there are not all that many EV owners yet, so that cuts down on the number of complaints about a new tax that the legislators receive.   

[mrwilsn]

Plus there are not all that many EV owners yet, so that cuts down on the number of complaints about a new tax that the legislators receive.   

Leave it to the genius legislators to pull shenanigans to try to compensate for misspending and then implement a tax that's high enough to hurt at the individual level but small enough that it does almost nothing at the group level to close the budget gap since, as you point out, there aren't that many EV owners yet.


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[KrazyEd]

As stated above, there aren't that many EV owners YET. That is why the have to get it in place now.
I have said previously that I have no problem paying my fair share. If I have a 300 lb. motorcycle
that is on the street for less than 10,000 miles a year, I should not have to pay $200.
Weight and / or miles driven easy and fair. My SV weighs more and while not really doing any damage
to the roads, would do more than my FX. Gas tax in Las Vegas is .24 per gallon. I get about 65 mpg
on it. If we figured 50 mpg, and 10,000 miles, my annual tax would be under $50. Plus, if my FX
falls over, there is no gasoline to spill and damage the road.

[Richard230]

As stated above, there aren't that many EV owners YET. That is why the have to get it in place now.
I have said previously that I have no problem paying my fair share. If I have a 300 lb. motorcycle
that is on the street for less than 10,000 miles a year, I should not have to pay $200.
Weight and / or miles driven easy and fair. My SV weighs more and while not really doing any damage
to the roads, would do more than my FX. Gas tax in Las Vegas is .24 per gallon. I get about 65 mpg
on it. If we figured 50 mpg, and 10,000 miles, my annual tax would be under $50. Plus, if my FX
falls over, there is no gasoline to spill and damage the road.

But, if your FX gets run over and catches on fire, it will make the national news.  However, if the same thing happens to your SV, no one will notice.  It will just be another IC vehicle fire that needs to be pushed aside into the gutter on the freeway so that the commuters can get by. 

[KrazyEd]

True, especially when they attempt to douse it with water.