NC bill to tax EVs $100/year

[Deleted member 6912]

A bill is being introduced in the NC Senate to tax EVs $100/year, SENATE DRS35259-MLxf-127A.

Full text of the bill is here (very short and readable): http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S710v0.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you want to let your senator know what you think, enter your address in the Senate map (second map on the page) at this site and find your Senate district:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then find your Senator here, should include an email address:
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=senate" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A quick, polite, well-informed, fact filled email is always appreciated. Rants, raves, name-calling, etc is not encouraged (even when it is well-deserved).

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

Presuming the purpose is to offset some of the lost tax revenue gained from buying gas, which is used to support road infrastructure, I think it is a reasonable bill.

 

[TomT]

+1

Presuming the purpose is to offset some of the lost tax revenue gained from buying gas, which is used to support road infrastructure, I think it is a reasonable bill.

 

[WMTribe90]

I think it would be reasonable to introduce such a bill about 5 years from now when the purchase cost of an EV is more in line with ICE cars and the number of EVs present a significant loss of gas tax revenue. Commercial truck traffic causes the most wear and tear on transportation infrastructure and the amount of wear caused by a couple hundred EV passenger vehicles in the state is de minimis at this point in time. Let the technology gain a foot hold before taxing it.

 

[Luft]

Washington State passed a similar bill to offset tax revenue that will be used for road work. I have no problem with the concept of EV owners paying their fair share of road work but I do think that it is poorly timed. There are too few EVs on the road to make a significant difference during this period when we should be doing everything we can to promote the adoption of this technology.

I feel they should be lavishing as many perks as they can think of to draw people into this game changing mode of transportation and only implement fees when a critical mass of EV drivers has been reached.

Taxes at this point will do little to help the budget but may harm EV adoption.

 

[harryjpowell]

Get rid of the gas tax and just tax per mile on everyone instead of some arbitrary in-equal amount..

 

[redLEAF]

NC is obviously not a zero emissions state ... California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont are but notice the absence of any states south of MD in this group, air pollution must not be an issue in NC so I guess a penalty is in order, these cars are expensive enough without a surcharge and with such low numbers the fees wouldn't pay for the amount of effort to legislate and collect them ...

 

[ebill3]

Presuming the purpose is to offset some of the lost tax revenue gained from buying gas, which is used to support road infrastructure, I think it is a reasonable bill.

Me too. We have it here in WA, I have two EVs, and I'm good with it.

 

[FLBoy]

Note that all of the bill sponsors are Republicans. Just sayin'.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

a plug-in electric vehicle that does not rely on a nonelectric source of power

Volt would be exempt

So would the Volvo with the alcohol heater

 

[RegGuheert]

Presuming the purpose is to offset some of the lost tax revenue gained from buying gas, which is used to support road infrastructure, I think it is a reasonable bill.

That's the purported purpose in VA, but when they simultaneously repeal the gas tax and raise the sales tax, then it seems simply like a plan to block EVs from the market. I'm NOT alright with that.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Come to think of it, the Leaf very much relies on a non electric sources of power... it relies on diesel ships, locomotives, and trucks to deliver it to the customer. When replacement parts are needed they are all transported by non electric power.

Totally reliant.

 

[smkettner]

So how much state gas tax does a Prius pay to go 15,000 miles?

 

[smkettner]

Get rid of the gas tax and just tax per mile on everyone instead of some arbitrary in-equal amount..

As long as you factor in a weight multiplier I am good on that. Twice the weight should pay at least twice the price.

 

[keydiver]

So how much state gas tax does a Prius pay to go 15,000 miles?

I believe NC is around 37 cents per gallon to the state. Assuming about 50 mpg for my Prius, I would use 300 gallons to go 15,000 miles. That's $111 in state taxes.
Using that same logic, if the Leaf is ~100 MPGe, for 15,000 miles we should pay half that, or about $55.

 

[leafedbehind]

Ridiculous, politically-motivated bill created by progress and technology haters. Just my humble opinion.

 

[lkkms2]

Get rid of the gas tax and just tax per mile on everyone instead of some arbitrary in-equal amount..

Federal gas taxes haven't been raised in 20 years. Oil companies don't want to have gasoline taxes raised, but it is needed to help pay for much needed road infrastructure costs. And it would encourage people to move toward more fuel efficient vehicles and alternatives to gasoline. Which in the long term will be a positive move.

I agree with others that believe it is still too early to be taxing EVs when we should be providing incentives for all the benefits that EVs will provide. Lets get a few more on the road first.

Every time we spend $1000 to $3000 dollars a year on gasoline we are sending about 30% of those dollars ($300 to $900) overseas to pay for the foreign oil. Electricity is already almost 100% made in the U.S., by local energy infrastructure that is getting cleaner and cleaner.

Which is better? Keep sending that $300-$900 overseas every year instead of keeping it here for the local economy? Encouraging or discouraging the advance of clean electric vehicle in the local economy?

 

[cgaydos]

Get rid of the gas tax and just tax per mile on everyone instead of some arbitrary in-equal amount..

First, that means you have to monitor miles which means you create an additional infrastructure to collect that info.

Second, the gas tax impacts drivers differently depending on their car efficiency. While it's not a 1-1 correllation, there is a pretty strong relationship between lower gas mileage and higher maintanance impact to roads. A Ford Extinction, for example, is much worse on roads that a Versa.

While I agree that EV drivers should pay for road infrastructure in concept, I also think this is poorly timed. This is a time when the Feds offer a $7500 tax credit and many states and localities offer other EV subsidies because it is understood that this is a technology that will benefit all society and requires support to get started. Adding the tax makes little sense at this time.

I also have to question motivation. $100/year times the number of EVs in North Carolina will likely not yield enough funds to pay for the cost of administering the new tax. I suspect that the sponsors are the type of people who read that article by Lomborg in the WSJ op ed page and loved it and forwarded it to all their friends. There are some people who have a strong emotional dislike of EVs.

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

I think it would be reasonable to introduce such a bill about 5 years from now when the purchase cost of an EV is more in line with ICE cars and the number of EVs present a significant loss of gas tax revenue. Commercial truck traffic causes the most wear and tear on transportation infrastructure and the amount of wear caused by a couple hundred EV passenger vehicles in the state is de minimis at this point in time. Let the technology gain a foot hold before taxing it.

How much help does EV need or deserve? We already got a $7,500 gift courtesy of US tax payer (not to mention some states have incentives also). I couldn't in good faith condemn somebody asking for a few bucks to pay for road maintenance, considering I now no longer pay any taxes toward it in gas (at least for this car).

 

[smkettner]

$100 to the state does not cover the Federal tax. I would call it good for now.