What tax Incentives does your State or Country provide?

[dbsb3233]

Yeah, the gas tax automatically adjusts for that. When driving out of state and getting gas there, the gas tax goes to that state. Which is fair since you're using their roads.

But a flat EV fee only goes to your home state. You pay nothing (unless it's a toll road) for OH or IN roads that you use.

But theoretically it works both ways. There are people that live in those states that drive EVs into MI and pay nothing for MI roads, so it should roughly even out.

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[Kamuelaflyer]

I was asked to participate in a vehicle use study by the state of Hawaii a while back. Used a plug-in device and gps to track your mileage useage and whether you use private roads (not maintained by the county or state). It was part of a study to revamp the various road taxes. I’m guessing it was driven in part by the increasing number of BEV’s and, to a lesser degree, PHEV’s. The stated goal was to find ways to reduce overall road related taxes (gas mostly) for most consumers and head towards a wear based system I suppose.

 

[dbsb3233]

And there's other problems with per-mile tracking too. Too easy to cheat... Billing registration... Foreign drivers... Privacy... Rental cars... Large administrative costs... Etc. It almost creates more problems than it solves.

But FWIW, most taxes/fees are pretty unfair anyway. It's a giant exercise in redistributionism.

 

[dbsb3233]

I was asked to participate in a vehicle use study by the state of Hawaii a while back. Used a plug-in device and gps to track your mileage useage and whether you use private roads (not maintained by the county or state). It was part of a study to revamp the various road taxes. I’m guessing it was driven in part by the increasing number of BEV’s and, to a lesser degree, PHEV’s. The stated goal was to find ways to reduce overall road related taxes (gas mostly) for most consumers and head towards a wear based system I suppose.

Well at least you don't have the "cars driving in across state lines" issue. ?

I've always said islands are the perfect place for BEVs.

 

[jhalkias]

Maybe they just need to eliminate the gas tax altogether and figure out what revenue is needed to maintain roads in each state based on average number of vehicles and just charge that at registration per vehicle. I would be more OK with that. Yeah, high mileage ICE drivers would make out with that, but it would seem more fair.

 

[jhalkias]

I guess I am looking at it like our property tax here in Ohio. Most of it goes to Fund our schools. Whether you have 1,2, or 0 kids everyone pays into it. Because education is a public good that benefits everyone. Same with roads. You may not drive much but you benefit because UPS can get that Amazon package to your door, and groceries get delivered to the supermarket. But there really is no perfect system.
To go back to my original point, EVERY state should be encouraging EV adoption and figure this out as we advance in that direction. Not penalizing those of us blazing the trail who are already paying a premium for our cars to finance the needed use cases and research that will fuel the future. Ohio now has a battery and EV plant here. They should be doing everything they can to encourage that industry.

 

[dbsb3233]

Maybe they just need to eliminate the gas tax altogether and figure out what revenue is needed to maintain roads in each state based on average number of vehicles and just charge that at registration per vehicle. I would be more OK with that. Yeah, high mileage ICE drivers would make out with that, but it would seem more fair.

Problem with putting it all in the registration fee is it really screws low mileage drivers. Like grandma that only drives her Buick 4000 miles/yr now. Or the truck used to pull the boat on weekends.

When no single method is truly fair, best to spread it out over multiple methods. More likely to even out that way.

 

[jhalkias]

And yes, as a school board member I hear ALL the time “I shouldn’t pay property taxes because I have no kids”. Well, how was YOUR education paid for?

 

[dbsb3233]

I guess I am looking at it like our property tax here in Ohio. Most of it goes to Fund our schools. Whether you have 1,2, or 0 kids everyone pays into it. Because education is a public good that benefits everyone. Same with roads. You may not drive much but you benefit because UPS can get that Amazon package to your door, and groceries get delivered to the supermarket. But there really is no perfect system.

I would agree that roads are actually a better fit for general fund taxation (i.e. non-usage based) far more than many of the things we spend general fund taxes on now. Few things are as widely and universally used and necessary to society. Even if one doesn't drive. All deliveries, all goods and services, all emergency response, all commerce, all construction, all utilities, pretty much everything needs roads.

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