$1000 to register an electric vehicle ???

[hat_man]

Just read this in the paper and thought I'd post a link to the article. I hope this doesn't happen.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...509-story.html

[cowmeat]

Seems a little steep, but probably not if you do the math and figure how much you're currently paying in gas taxes a year
They still have to maintain the roadways, so they will always find a way to get you to chip in. Nobody rides for free (unless you have a PHEV like me)

[samwichse]

Crossposted from here:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ion-37494.html

[Hersbird]

So the state gave them $4000 up front and they complain they might have to pay it back over a 4 year period. That's longer than the average owner keeps a car and these cars aren't being bought by the poor. But I suppose a 3 ton car that can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds isn't doing any damage to the roads.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

So the state gave them $4000 up front and they complain they might have to pay it back over a 4 year period. That's longer than the average owner keeps a car and these cars aren't being bought by the poor. But I suppose a 3 ton car that can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds isn't doing any damage to the roads.

$1000 per year is the equivalent of using 1936 gallons of fuel in a regular car. (1000 EV reg - $149 gas reg) / $0.44 per gallon

Driving 15,000 miles a year you would have to average 7.75 mpg to spend that much in the gas taxes.

So yes, it is WAY out of wack.

Actually a 3 ton car does very little damage to the roads. The vast majority of damage is done by commercial vehicles weighing tens of thousands of pounds. However everyone should pay because everyone takes up space on the roads. EVs should get a free ride.

Oregon and bunch of other states are trialing a fee per mile program. You pay $0.017 per mile. I've been part of the trial for 2 years and it works well.

[Hersbird]

It's not $1000 more to register an EV, it's $1000 although I do think the regular cars are only $150. And there is also a 6.25% sales tax on gasoline there so at $3/gallon it's another .18. Still it makes the EV about $550/year higher than the average car but they also give you $4000 when you buy it in the first place. So you get 8 years no extra cost and then $550 more per year after.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

It's not $1000 more to register an EV, it's $1000 although I do think the regular cars are only $150. And there is also a 6.25% sales tax on gasoline there so at $3/gallon it's another .18. Still it makes the EV about $550/year higher than the average car but they also give you $4000 when you buy it in the first place. So you get 8 years no extra cost and then $550 more per year after.

1. See my math: $1000 EV registration - $149 ICE registration = $851 more for the EV
2. Illinois has a 6.25% sales tax on gas. What is the tax on electricity?
3. Where are you getting the $4,000 from. I don't see any Illinois EV tax credit.

[redpoint5]

Electricity tax is not used for road infrastructure, so it should be ignored.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by JSH

1. See my math: $1000 EV registration - $149 ICE registration = $851 more for the EV
2. Illinois has a 6.25% sales tax on gas. What is the tax on electricity?
3. Where are you getting the $4,000 from. I don't see any Illinois EV tax credit.

2. they have a 6.25% sales tax AND a straight number gas tax they are proposing to be $.44/gal with this new law.

3. From the article, "For Skarlatos, a self-employed software developer who bought her Tesla using $7,500 in federal incentives and $4,000 in state incentives, the idea of suddenly having to pay a $1,000 registration fee to own an electric vehicle in Illinois is “unfair,” and would have dissuaded her from an environmentally motivated purchase. The $11,500 in incentives, she said, persuaded her to take the plunge."

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Electricity tax is not used for road infrastructure, so it should be ignored.

The general IL 6.25% sales tax doesn’t go to the road fund either. If we are going to ignore one we should ignore both.

States like to complain about lost road fund revenue from electric cars but they also ignore the extra gas taxes they collect for off-road use. All those lawn mowers, generators, pressure washers, boats etc.

Also if States are going to go after EVs then they might as well go after other alternative fuels too. I would bet there are more natural gas and propane powered vehicles on the road today than EVs and they are mostly heavy duty trucks that do the bulk of the road damage. Are we going to surcharge them as well?

Or just maybe we should stop trying to raise taxes indirectly and just tax people directly for using the roads.


Registration fees should cover the cost of processing the registration paperwork- that’s it. If lawmakers want more money they should just be direct about it and raise income or sales taxes instead of nickel and dimeing use with fees unrelated to what the money will be used for.