Quote:
Originally Posted by Indy-Guy
Drivers of EVs in Florida are using our roads for free by not paying the highway gas tax that is charged at the gas pump to keep up our roads. Currently there are 31 states that charge a tax-fee at the time of license plate purchase to collect the fair share of EVs use of the roads. I do not know if you are traveling and use a pay to charge station to charge your EV if you pay a highway tax or not. If anyone knows please share that info.
Below is a link to how Florida may be moving towards getting EV owners to start paying their fair share.
Florida EV owners may get their own version of a gas tax | WUSF Public Media |
"fair share" is a term used by those who want someone else to pay more.
The justification for this is a slippery slope. The proposal is to charge a fee for vehicles that use zero gallons per mile to help pay for roads. "Normal" cars pay $0.28/gallon in tax but cars that don't use gas pay nothing. The owners of those vehicles are not buying fuel and not paying the fuel tax so they are not paying their fair share.
OK, what is "fair?" If $200 is a fair amount to charge a vehicle that uses no gas then is it fair that a hybrid pays only about 1/3 of that? Maybe we should charge hybrids and other high-mpg vehicles a fee to offset their fuel conservation too. And what about the EV driver who lives in the Villages, uses their golf cart for most of their transportation, and drives less than the 13,500 mile average that was used to calculate the $200? Is it fair to them that they get charged for road usage they did not actually use?
Maybe the only "fair" thing to do would be to drop the gas tax entirely and just increase the registration fee. That should be fair.... except for the little old lady who only drives to church on Sunday. She does not use the roads the Florida average of 13,500 miles per year. There would also be a problem with drivers from other states that use the Florida roads but don't pay Florida registration tax. How would they pay their "fair share?"