Bipartisan bill in Congress includes $130 annual EV registration fee

Some states are adding registration fees on clean vehicles to replace declining gas tax revenue. When EV and PHEV adoption becomes large, road funding methods that do not depend on the gas tax will be needed. EV adoption in the US has slowed after the election of President Trump and the removal of federal clean-vehicle incentives. EVs are about 3 percent of the vehicle fleet. The federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993, and inflation-adjusted levels would be much higher than the current rate. A proposed fee would charge EV drivers more, rising to $150 by 2035, and would also change federal funding for EV charging, potentially harming rural and remote drivers.

"Some states have already started imposing a registration fee on clean vehicles to offset reduced gas tax receipts. And at some point, when a significant proportion of the country's vehicles are EVs or PHEVs, an alternative road-funding method that does not rely on the gas tax will certainly be in order."

"As of now, EVs make up barely 3 percent of the entire vehicle fleet. Meanwhile, the federal gas tax has not been increased since 1993; had it been adjusted to keep pace with inflation, it would add an extra $4.24 to a gallon rather than a pathetic 18.4 cents per gallon."

""Drivers of gas-powered vehicles pay approximately $73 to $89 in federal gas tax each year. The proposed fee would charge an unfair premium on EV drivers at a time when all Americans are looking for ways to save money," said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association. "This is particularly concerning as the EV fee will increase to $150 by 2035-nearly double what gas car drivers would pay in a year. This fee lands on top of the road use taxes that many EV drivers already pay at the state level.""

""In addition to the new EV fee, the bill makes major changes to federal investments for dedicated EV charging. A lack of dedicated EV funding could particularly impact EV drivers living in-and traveling to-more rural and remote locations in the United States, where federal funding is most needed to help fill gaps in existing charging infrastructure," Gore said."

Read at Ars Technica