Electric vehicle drivers in Texas have started to get some bad news in the mail.
Starting in September, they’ll have to pay the state an extra $200 each year to register their climate-friendly cars and trucks. And if they want to buy a new EV, that will cost $400 upfront.
State lawmakers imposed the new fee on EVs this spring to replace gasoline taxes lost to the switch to battery-powered vehicles. Supporters say it ensures every driver pays their fair share. But the fee is nearly double what an average driver would pay in taxes at the pump, according to consumer advocates.
Those moves have some EV advocates fuming — and will create new barriers to one of President Joe Biden’s signature climate policies.
Unchanged since 1991, Texas’ gas tax is one of the cheapest in the country. Now, its new EV fees are among the most expensive. That’s no accident, experts and advocates say. A growing number of mostly Republican-led states are adding speed bumps to electric vehicles — from new taxes on drivers using charging […]
This is excellent news! As the Governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, has stated, we need to “mobilize resources” to address climate change. The best way to generate these resources is taxes. It was good to see Washington state, and California, on the map for imposing fees on electric vehicles. It should be noted that “liberal” New Jersey imposed no fees. The costs of dealing the the batteries, and other waste generated when these vehicles are through their life span will be considerable. Accumulating the resources now from the EV owners will forstall the costs being transferred to the taxpayer later on. Anything that challenges the Reagan area dictum “Privatize the profits, and socialize the costs” will benefit the country as a whole.