Texans could pay $200 annual fee to drive electric vehicles

Maquis

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$100 in Illinois, plus getting an ugly white plate that ends with an ‘EL’ and no ability to customize. I had the opportunity to transfer my old plate, but both the sales manager and, more importantly, my wife thought it would look ridiculous to drive a MME with a plate that reads: PRIUS! I reluctantly agreed :)
I don’t think we’re supposed to be able to transfer an existing non-EL plate to an EV. I’m not sure what happens if you (they) try? Someone on here that lives in Springfield was going to do that, but said they couldn’t.
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larryk

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North Carolina around $200 a year. Way more than I’d pay in fuel tax per year.
I think it's more like $140 in NC. That's still lots more than I would pay in gas tax. I only only bought about 150 gallons last year and I think the gas tax is like .38 a gallon.
 

Triggerhappy007

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I read about this on one of the Tesla forums. While I think electric vehicles should pay something to contribute for highway/road maintenance and construction, what is proposed is way higher than most would pay in a similar sized ICE vehicle. The current gasoline tax in Texas is $0.20 per gallon for the state and then the $0.184 per gallon for federal tax. This bill is only for the state portion, no wording that any would be given to the federal government. So, the $200.00 tax divided by $0.20 equals the tax on 1000 gallons of gas. So even with a poor 15 MPG average, that would be 15,000 miles a year. My Mach-E replaced a 2013 Ford Escape 2.0 Ecoboost that averaged about 23.8 MPG lifetime while I owned it. So based on 23.8 MPG I would have had to drive 23,800 miles a year to equal 1000 gallons of gas used. I never came close to that ever and I drive even less now that I work remote part time each week. Another issue with the bill is that is states for only vehicles under 10,000 LBS that uses only electricity as sole source of power. That indicates PHEV cars and trucks are not taxed at all even though they will use less gasoline than normal ICE vehicle driving the same distance.
I think a $100.00 BEV / $50.00 PHEV would be a fair tax for starters.
This tax will also be in addition to the annual registration costs which was $80.00 for me including the required safety inspection this year.

I will escape the tax this year even if signed by Governor Abbott, as it will take effect September 1st.
I just renewed the Mach-E and the Model 3 has to be renewed by end of August.

This is just another tax cost going up, as we seem to make up for no state income tax with ever increasing property taxes most now due to the 2021 / 2022 massive housing price increases.
I agree with you. Before my EVs, I had a Prius Prime that got over 50 mpg. That's like the same gas tax as driving 50,000 miles a year.
 
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GreaseMonkey

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I don’t think we’re supposed to be able to transfer an existing non-EL plate to an EV. I’m not sure what happens if you (they) try? Someone on here that lives in Springfield was going to do that, but said they couldn’t.
I don’t recall the details, but my plate had been expired for a couple of days so perhaps there was an option to renew at the EV rate for a year? We ended up not doing it and I kept the old plate as a souvenir (yes, I realize that I’m supposed to return it).
 

kodiakng

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dal

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npgeorgeuw

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Texans could pay $200 annual fee to drive electric vehicles | KTSM 9 News

Texas right now, but I am sure other states will start doing this as well. It makes sense actually, as EVs slowly take over the road, they will lose a lot of gas tax revenues and need to make them up somewhere. We have pretty high gas tax here in Washington, so I could see it happening here for sure, especially with the amount of EVs up here.
They are already doing it in WA state, have been for quite some time. Extra fees paid at registration and it’s designed to cover gas tax shortfall.
 

Polar

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Thats because of RTA tax....once you get out of the special taxing area for the lightrail that will never be finished (think Simpsons "monorail" episode). The EV fee is only $150 here in SE King County and no extra fees.
Negative - it is $150 AND $75 - take a look at your licensing renewals.

I just renewed two EVs / clear as day on your renewal fee list.
 

roamtheworld

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Not to mention that WA has no state income tax.
Bingo! No state income tax in Texas. They get you on real estate tax in TX. I was hoping it would be smaller amount but we are still saving over buy gas for ICE car. Just not as much ahead moving forward.
 

RidingwithScotty

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That is the one (minor) downside of owning an EV; all your maintenance savings go to registration! Virginia charges $116 a year before the Highway Use Fee. That was sticker shock of a whole different kind…
 

A-A-Ron

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I don't mind this, in theory. It does make up for lost gasoline tax revenue that's supposed to cover road construction and maintenance.

What annoys me is that 90% of my commute is on roads funded by tolls (to the tune of almost $2000/year)
 

SWO

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Gas tax in MD is probably on the avg but every time I drive on I97 I’m reminded that it’s all BS. That road has sections of concrete missing that can swallow small cars and it’s not because people with EV’s aren’t paying their share. I have 2 ice vehicles and the gas tax doesn’t seem to be fixing anything.
It's a tradition in MD to raid the road fund for special interest projects.
 

Thunderanger

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In Missouri we have to pay $100/yr. However I never paid it when I had my EV registered in MO. At the DMV they'd tell me I need to buy it and I'd just say no. They gave me my plates still. I got a letter every 6 months saying if I get caught driving in MO without the sticker its a $500 fine. Was pulled over a few times not a single police officer asked about it or noticed it was missing. May be different now though this was in like 2017.
No kidding? I live in MO and have never even HEARD of this.
 

UnforAll

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Virginia's Highway Use Fee (HUF) for EVs is currently $116.49/year to offset lost gas tax revenues. EV and (I think hybrid) drivers can instead enroll in the Mileage Choice Program and pay on a per-mile basis up to a maximum of $116.49/year.

"An annual highway use fee will be assessed on each electric motor vehicle registered for highway use in Virginia. The fee is included with registration fees and must be paid at the time of original registration and each year at renewal. The annual highway use fee will be updated yearly on July 1."

Alternatively, you can enroll in the Mileage Choice Program. The choices are to install a device in the OBD port so that the contractor, Emovis, can monitor your mileage and report to the DMV. Or, you can request your vehicle manufacturer to report aggregated mileage monthly to the DMV via OEM telematics data collection. Either way, currently all miles driven -- including out of state -- are included.

The pitch for the program is that you can save money. "You only pay for the miles you drive, so if you drive less, you pay less . . . The average number of miles driven per year by all Virginians is 11,600." (hence the $116.49/year charge now). The FAQ state that those in the program, no matter how many miles driven, "will never pay more than the annual highway use fee."

The FAQ also promise that your privacy and information are protected.

https://vamileagechoice.com/
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/general/#va_mileage_choice.asp
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/alternative_vehicles.html
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#highwayuse_fee.asp
 
 







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