You opinion on TX Senate Bill 505

[Boselka]

I guess if you think about it EV weigh more than ICE vehicles so cause more wear and tear for a comparable sized vehicle. That being said it does seem high and I hope I can get my permanent sticker (senior) here in Alaska before we add that cost to the annual registration.

True, I would counter that EVs don’t need our fuel trucked to depots by Big Rigs so maybe that wear and tear is negated lol.

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[Boselka]

Assuming an average of 12,000 miles a year and 25 MPG, an ICE would buy 480 gallons of gas in a year. According to the texas comptroller (here), Texas charges 20 cents per gallon and the feds add another 18.4 cents. So, the taxes on 480 gallons would come out to $184.32, so the $200 isn't really that bad. However, since the feds aren't getting a slice of the registration revenue Texas is making double the rate off of EV drivers - so from that perspective it's exorbitant.

From what I can find online Indiana charges 34 cents a gallon, so at $210 Indiana is only making $50 more off of EV drivers

Good points, I did not do the research On the fed side because I was only focusing on dollar for dollar where the funds are going vs where they were not getting paid before.

 

[AKgrampy]

True, I would counter that EVs don’t need our fuel trucked to depots by Big Rigs so maybe that wear and tear is negated lol.

But then you have all the people driving extra distance trying to find a charger that works!

 

[dj_stang]

But then you have all the people driving extra distance trying to find a charger that works!

After enough broken chargers and enough looking, the driving eventually stops would you imagine that.

 

[fmtexmme]

You're forgetting to include the 18.4 cent/gal federal tax. Yes, that is a federal tax, but I read once (can't find the link now) that something like 95% of federal gas tax is returned to the state. If you consider that, it's not 20 cents/gal, its 37.5 (20 +17.5) cents/gal.

So, looking at the math, a 23 mpg Edge driving 15K miles per year would use about 652 gallons of gas and contribute $244 in gas tax revenue.

A 39 mpg Escape hybrid would use 384 gallons for the same 15K miles and contribute $144 in gas tax revenue.

So, the $200 is a little high, but not outrageously so. My preference would be to reduce the state gas tax to something like 3 cents/gallon and impose a road maintenance fee on every vehicle registration. That way everyone contributes to the maintenance of roads and there is still an incentive to get off gas.

 

[timbop]

...
My preference would be to reduce the state gas tax to something like 3 cents/gallon and impose a road maintenance fee on every vehicle registration. That way everyone contributes to the maintenance of roads and there is still an incentive to get off gas.

Except that the fuel taxes are collected on out of state vehicles driving on the roads such as long haul trucks - which do the most damage to those roads. Fuel taxes for ICE also more fairly distribute the costs of maintenance to those who use the roads more. Since EVs don't need special fuel, higher registration fees are a reasonable interim solution.

I suspect that eventually all major roads will be toll roads with overhead high speed EZPass readers over them at strategic points, or perhaps mandatory automatic in-car mileage reporting.

 

[Donna216]

Ohio has the same fee. Not to mention some of us only exclusively use public chargers.

 

[Runner30005]

In Georgia we have an annual $211 alternate vehicle fee. AND the state is now going to add an electricity tax at public charging stations. Their argument is they NEED to get the EVs passing through the state to pay their “fair” share. Never mind those Georgians who rely on public chargers being double taxed.
In spite of giving billions of dollars to Rivian and Hyundai to build EV plants in Georgia the legislature still is doesn’t believe climate change needs to be addressed and does not support any need to to move to electric vehicles.

 

[TheBraydenKyle]

Agreed. I don’t mind paying my share for roads, but it should at least be fair. Not a one fee for all. Especially since the $200 is higher than the average ice vehicle and what they pay. It’s also, in my opinion, a pro-oil political move by the law makers. Plus, Texas had a substantial excess of money last year. Add that into the fact that almost every “new” or expanded freeway in the state now gets tolled or a toll lane make this even more infuriating for me.

 

[david_quick]

For those of you with upcoming vehicle registration renewals I was interested in your opinions on TX Senate Bill 505 that passed this year. In short for those that have not heard of this bill it is a new fee imposed on Electric Vehicles that add $400 to the registration fee of new vehicle registrations and $200 to the renewal of vehicle registrations (in essence we now have to pay $200/yr extra for driving an EV). This fee goes directly to the Texas Highways Fund and it was passed to “make up for the lost revenue from electric vehicles that don’t use fuel and thus don’t pay the Gas Tax the state has of $0.20 per gallon on gasoline sold in the state.

In my opinion I am okay with paying my share of road usage however the $200 seems a bit steep compared to what ICE vehicle owners would pay. Looking at the math:

• 20¢ / Gallon
• $200 buys 1,000 Gallons
  • 2023 Ford Eacape Hybrid - 39 MPG
    • Would have to drive 39,000 miles in a year to be equal
  • 2023 Ford Edge - 23 MPG
    • Would have to drive 23,000 miles in a year to be equal

We have put 28,000 miles on our Mach-E in the last 2 years, this means we are paying based on my calculations $100 - $150 MORE per year than a comparable ICE vehicle that we may have purchased. AND that is not taking into account that about 9,000 of those miles have been out of state road trips!

I know the flat fee is designed to be easier to manage (these numbers would look different for an F-150 lightning) but the alternative that would be fair would be some sort of mileage based tax that would track your mileage. Which would you prefer? Flat Fee per year? OR some sort of Mileage based fee that tracks your mileage driven?

Mileage fee by a long shot applied to all vehicles. This is what the Washington Allstate DOT has been directed to come up with a plan for. The recent iterations would start with EVs , then add in high mileage ICE and pHEV. Finally it would bring in all the ICE vehicles. The gas tax would be repealed.

The sticking point is how to collect the data and money. Gas tax is pay as you go this would ostensibly be lump sum. When 50% of the population can’t be bothered to save money fo an emergency what are the chances they would do so for a tax?

The data collection could be technological or manual. How to prevent cheating?

The Texas thing is weird. I have written several answers on Quora regarding EVs paying their fair share and the US DOT says the average tax for ICE cars is about $300 per year.

 

[Glen Boise]

The fee in Indiana was $150. It was increased to $210 because the State also raised gas taxes. Indiana gas taxes have an inflation adjustment clause. They increase and fall with the changes in inflation.

The lack of a Federal EV tax is a problem. It is used by the States and locals to pay 80% of major construction costs on highways and bridges.

Our Texas friends might ask their legislators the basis for their surcharge calculations. In Indiana it is a function of median vehicle miles of travel times miles per gallon times gas tax.

There is a debate over the better way to tax EVs. The surcharge method is easy to calculate. It is unfair to low mileage drivers like retirees and those with short commutes. They end up subsidizing high mileage drivers with long commutes, deliverymen and others.

On the other hand, a personally calculated VMT tax is more expensive to collect the needed information every year and calculate. Both of which increase the fee. Bureaucracy costs money. It has clear privacy and enforcement issues. People do complain about "Big Government" tracking their movements. People do cheat. Doesn't Oregon have a voluntary program using in-vehicle transponders to adjust for people driving out of state? Would you participate if you worried about "Big Government"? How many would try hacking the transponder or go out of state and lose it there?

 

[milepost1]

I guess if you think about it EV weigh more than ICE vehicles so cause more wear and tear for a comparable sized vehicle. That being said it does seem high and I hope I can get my permanent sticker (senior) here in Alaska before we add that cost to the annual registration.

Personal cars and truck cause little damage to roads due to weight. 18 wheelers cause most damage to roads due to weight. Especially blacktop.

 

[milepost1]

For those of you with upcoming vehicle registration renewals I was interested in your opinions on TX Senate Bill 505 that passed this year. In short for those that have not heard of this bill it is a new fee imposed on Electric Vehicles that add $400 to the registration fee of new vehicle registrations and $200 to the renewal of vehicle registrations (in essence we now have to pay $200/yr extra for driving an EV). This fee goes directly to the Texas Highways Fund and it was passed to “make up for the lost revenue from electric vehicles that don’t use fuel and thus don’t pay the Gas Tax the state has of $0.20 per gallon on gasoline sold in the state.

In my opinion I am okay with paying my share of road usage however the $200 seems a bit steep compared to what ICE vehicle owners would pay. Looking at the math:

• 20¢ / Gallon
• $200 buys 1,000 Gallons
  • 2023 Ford Eacape Hybrid - 39 MPG
    • Would have to drive 39,000 miles in a year to be equal
  • 2023 Ford Edge - 23 MPG
    • Would have to drive 23,000 miles in a year to be equal

We have put 28,000 miles on our Mach-E in the last 2 years, this means we are paying based on my calculations $100 - $150 MORE per year than a comparable ICE vehicle that we may have purchased. AND that is not taking into account that about 9,000 of those miles have been out of state road trips!

I know the flat fee is designed to be easier to manage (these numbers would look different for an F-150 lightning) but the alternative that would be fair would be some sort of mileage based tax that would track your mileage. Which would you prefer? Flat Fee per year? OR some sort of Mileage based fee that tracks your mileage driven?

How would they set up milage based rate? Oh by tracking your mileage. I don't want govt tracking anything. But might as well, red light cameras, speed cameras, car tracking etc. So guess tracking how far and where I go is no issue.

 

[Jack Roberts]

For those of you with upcoming vehicle registration renewals I was interested in your opinions on TX Senate Bill 505 that passed this year. In short for those that have not heard of this bill it is a new fee imposed on Electric Vehicles that add $400 to the registration fee of new vehicle registrations and $200 to the renewal of vehicle registrations (in essence we now have to pay $200/yr extra for driving an EV). This fee goes directly to the Texas Highways Fund and it was passed to “make up for the lost revenue from electric vehicles that don’t use fuel and thus don’t pay the Gas Tax the state has of $0.20 per gallon on gasoline sold in the state.

In my opinion I am okay with paying my share of road usage however the $200 seems a bit steep compared to what ICE vehicle owners would pay. Looking at the math:

• 20¢ / Gallon
• $200 buys 1,000 Gallons
  • 2023 Ford Eacape Hybrid - 39 MPG
    • Would have to drive 39,000 miles in a year to be equal
  • 2023 Ford Edge - 23 MPG
    • Would have to drive 23,000 miles in a year to be equal

We have put 28,000 miles on our Mach-E in the last 2 years, this means we are paying based on my calculations $100 - $150 MORE per year than a comparable ICE vehicle that we may have purchased. AND that is not taking into account that about 9,000 of those miles have been out of state road trips!

I know the flat fee is designed to be easier to manage (these numbers would look different for an F-150 lightning) but the alternative that would be fair would be some sort of mileage based tax that would track your mileage. Which would you prefer? Flat Fee per year? OR some sort of Mileage based fee that tracks your mileage driven?

Georgia already pays it and there is no break for retirees. I only drive my mme about 7000 miles a year. The $200 dollar charge is ridiculous.

 

[IMDIDOC]

For those of you with upcoming vehicle registration renewals I was interested in your opinions on TX Senate Bill 505 that passed this year. In short for those that have not heard of this bill it is a new fee imposed on Electric Vehicles that add $400 to the registration fee of new vehicle registrations and $200 to the renewal of vehicle registrations (in essence we now have to pay $200/yr extra for driving an EV). This fee goes directly to the Texas Highways Fund and it was passed to “make up for the lost revenue from electric vehicles that don’t use fuel and thus don’t pay the Gas Tax the state has of $0.20 per gallon on gasoline sold in the state.

In my opinion I am okay with paying my share of road usage however the $200 seems a bit steep compared to what ICE vehicle owners would pay. Looking at the math:

• 20¢ / Gallon
• $200 buys 1,000 Gallons
  • 2023 Ford Eacape Hybrid - 39 MPG
    • Would have to drive 39,000 miles in a year to be equal
  • 2023 Ford Edge - 23 MPG
    • Would have to drive 23,000 miles in a year to be equal

We have put 28,000 miles on our Mach-E in the last 2 years, this means we are paying based on my calculations $100 - $150 MORE per year than a comparable ICE vehicle that we may have purchased. AND that is not taking into account that about 9,000 of those miles have been out of state road trips!

I know the flat fee is designed to be easier to manage (these numbers would look different for an F-150 lightning) but the alternative that would be fair would be some sort of mileage based tax that would track your mileage. Which would you prefer? Flat Fee per year? OR some sort of Mileage based fee that tracks your mileage driven?

Maybe they want you to pay for those EV from out-of-state that don't buy gas and don't pay road use tax.

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