Illinois thinking about raising EV registration
 

I posted this link in the Fossil Fuel Free section but thought I'd post it here also for anyone else that wanted to read the article. $1000 a year to register an EV is highway robbery !!! I hope this never happens.

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

Solution: Put a tiny lawnmower engine in the car to power, uh, the windshield wipers. Then it's a hybrid, not an EV, right? :rolleyes:

Seriously though, that is crazy. Wasn't the government supposed to be pushing for people to buy more EVs? What about the EV tax rebate?

They would need to raise the gasoline and diesel fuel tax to around $2/ gallon to make it comparable. Pretty sure that isn't going to happen...

Another example of politicians getting out of their element and dabbling in math and economics.

"You're out of your element, Donnie!"

Yeah, $1000 a year sounded like it was WAAAAYYY higher than a gas user would pay yearly in taxes.

They are also thinking about raising the gas tax 25 cents (and diesel but I can't remember how much) and have tossed about the idea of a mileage tax. A mileage tax would hurt everyone except Chicagoans (as usual). With a total commute of 10 miles every day they have it easy and would pay minimal tax. A guy like me that has to drive 60 miles each way every day would pay through the nose.

Yes, I believe it was from $0.19 up to $0.44/gallon. A large increase, but still far less than $1000 for just about every driver on the road. Even taking into account the entirety of the fuel tax that EV's avoid would mean a gas vehicle owner would need to purchase 2272 gallons to be considered equal.

2272(G) x 25(mpg) = 56,800 miles/year...... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

You have to subtract whatever the ICE registration costs over there.

Mileage Tax isn't that just placing the cost on the people who get the most benefit from the roads. It's not much different the paying tolls on roads. In Miami they keep converting roads to toll, its bill by plate. I bet the cost per mile is more than the less than $.01 per mile increase of $.25 per gallon would be @ 30 mpg.

Here in S FL they have opened toll "Express Lanes" the price increases as the traffic flow increases. The lanes do nothing but cause traffic bottlenecks as people try to get in and out of to these lanes across three or four lanes of traffic. Looks like there are more to come.

As far as taxing goes someone always feels that they are paying more than they should. Why should I pay school taxes when I have no kids in school? Maybe parents should be billed for service.

These taxes have not been strongly opposed so expect more nonsense like this in other states.

There are very few EV owners and there is an active backlash going on,

EV owners for the most part believe they owe additional registration fees for some unknown reason (they don’t because of municipal substation taxes)
so are perfect whipping boys to lay down unnecessary fees without any real political backlash , until someone actively opposes these fines they will continue to become more outlandish.

Sadly some Tesla owners love high registration fees because it makes EVs exclusive, which furthers the false EV owners are all smug rich *******s narrative that the political folks making the fees want to believe.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...es#Post5084085


Any time I see these fees I am reminded about a local legislators comment on a similar tax

“Then hybrids and electric cars will be paying a lot more than they're paying now and that will wipe that smug look off their faces and maybe they'd actually use the pedal for a change.”

The above summarizes what these taxes are actually about

Illinois did give then $4000 up front. Their gas tax is .19 plus 6.25% of the sale price so more like $.38/gallon. Part of the EV increase is to raise that to .44 and I don't know if they would also keep the 6.25%. That would mean the average mpg, 24.7, driven the average miles, 13,476, will be paying $477/year in registration and gas taxes. Now consider the average Tesla costs about twice the average car's MSRP and the income of the owner is probably even a greater disparity, and there you have it. Still that $4000 up front gets you the first 8 years with no extra cost. What Illinois should try instead is just putting the registration fee as a percentage of the value so say a $80,000 Tesla is $1000 but so is a $80,000 BMW. Then you can charge $10,000+/yr for a Bugatti and it makes complaining much harder. The problem is I bet all of those lawmakers drive $100,000 car themselves.

Iowa Registration is based on List Price, EV's included unless owned before 1-1-2014 then $15/year, 1% for the first 7 years, down to .75% next 2 years, then .5% year 10-11 then $50. Plus a weight penalty of $.40 per hundred lbs.

So a $80,000 tesla would already be $824 annual registration. The State would have also collected around $5300 at the initial sale. No state EV incentives. Odd thing is both of my Rogues have the same MSRP.

Don't forget about the $0.184/gallon in federal gas tax.

I've said it many times before, but funding infrastructure based on how much petrol is consumed is ludicrous. Funding it based on miles driven might be slightly less ludicrous, but it still is because everyone depends on infrastructure even if they don't drive at all.

Infrastructure funding should be secured the same way all the other things we consider to be vital government services; through regular means of tax collection (income tax or sales tax).

The problem is that various agencies have competing agendas. DOT doesn't care about environmental quality and is largely funded by consumption of fossil fuels. Environmental agencies don't care about infrastructure funding, and only want the highest quality environments they can.

If we want to reduce fossil fuel consumption, it should be taxed at a higher rate, and that tax should have nothing to do with whether or not infrastructure gets adequately funded.

Here's a breakdown of tax by state, including federal taxes:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...s_Tax_Jpeg.jpg

Gas tax is the only modern tax miracle pushing efficiencies to near 100%

Fees are rarely over 50% efficient meaning you need to collect more to get the same effect.

Because gas tax was always considered an energy tax that just happens to fund roads (even by those who wrote it)
It’s intent was maybe not environmental but it was hoped that it would benefit thrift and punish waste and excessive use which it does to a point.

Those who say it’s just to fund roads are mistaken and do a disservice to the amount of thought that went into a tax that was purposefully avoidable but not evadable.

The only real changes needed
1. Gas tax should go up and not be possible to write off as easily, trains must pay 100% for their infrastructure, semis should pay more to motivate change and drive costs onto shipments which changes the economic prospects of local suppliers among many other wide spanning issues, consumers who use the most freight will pay the most as they should

2. Other sales taxes, including perhaps a small supply side tax on crude, again big funding possible with perhaps a small effect on sometimes bad decisions made.

For good of the country registration taxes should be tiered towards size and impact, many non rural areas struggle with traffic and parking , motorcycles, mopeds and even smart cars, IMievs should either have non expiring plates or low cost and 4wd monstrosities that aren’t doing work should be taxed ski high
Antique 2wd manual transmission pickups should be given a pass but newer 4wd bling mobiles should pay.

Start structuring things with thought toward being the least regressive while helping make good decisions for your area and there is half a chance road funding will solve itself while changing the vehicle makeup on the road favorably

This whole thing is a red herring anyway. More than 80% of Illinois' road funding comes from federal grants, and EVs aren't the reason for the shortfall.

1) How do you collect a mileage tax from out of staters who drive our roads "for free" and "cause damage"?

2) Do we charge the same rate for companies (UPS, FedEx, Greyhound, OTR truckers) as we do private car owners? Heavier vehicles with more tires cause more damage.

3) Do we charge private citizens a different rate based on the weight of the vehicle and size of their tires? (My Ranger at 3500 lbs and a big Dodge Ram with his 35" Super Swampers at almost twice the weight?)

4) How do we track just how many miles are driven in state? (My parents are snowbirds and drive to Tuscon for 4 months every year. Will they be charged for all the miles on the odometer that weren't driven in Illinois?)

Too many questions and no real answers. Just another knee-jerk reaction to try and get out of the hole Illinois has been digging for decades.

Everybody always goes after the truckers, and then they wonder why everything is so expensive.

If you tax the daylights out of truckers then ALL goods will become more expensive. Everything you own depends largely on truck transportation to get to you.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that trucks are harder on the road than a car is, but charge them fairly, don't bend them over the barrel to try and subsidize everyone else. Anytime you do that more is lost in bureaucratic waste than could ever be gained by the process.

But you would be surprised. These are the same law makers that don't know how to use smart phones or the internet for the most part.
* insert cringe facebook hearing questions *
Seems like 95% of hollywood and political office are completely out of touch with the common man.
Also, trust me. No point in pointing the finger to screw everyone else too down to the same level. The DOT registration on commercial vehicles already does that.
I think the biggest issue here is a lot of these states voted at the beginning of the year already and passed... and we the people never heard about it for the most part until now.
I mean at least for me in AR, that brings the savings between a new Nissan Leaf my 2010 Prius down to ~$15 a month. At that point, what's the point?
*insert big oil lobbyist here*
Plus, you have to think. Besides being smooth talkers, most politicians usually aren't very qualified to vote on most topics... But they do it. And we pay them. And we smile anyways.

This is why we need to bring back tar and feathers.

This is why "career politician" shouldn't be an occupation. It's meant to be a term of service to the people, not a lucrative job opportunity.

Holding office should pay minimum wage; then let's see who wants the "job".

I had a whole paragraph typed out but I erased and say I agree, and that we as Arkansans also apologize for bringing the world the Clintons.

I agree with everything you said. But--what are my options here (as an individual)? Sure, vote; but of the half of us who are eligible to vote and actually get off the couch and do it, half think one thing and the other half another, and the politicians in power stay, by and large, in power. Tar and feathers, sure, or armed insurrection--but then I'll be arrested, prosecuted, and never heard from again if I'm not shot by the police to begin with. Since I have a vested interest in remaining alive, I'm not keen on that unless things get really, really bad and it becomes an attractive alternative.

I feel like smiling is just the coping mechanism most people have landed on.

Pretty much lol
We are too poor to have a voice. I like being alive as well so I just roll with it and have learned to expect not much usefullness from the government. I guess what keeps me going is how much worse it could be if I lived in the socialist republic of europe, ;)

I guess the politicians don't care or aren't worried about the whole CO2 thing.
Only care about that $.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/05/15/d...red-cars-2040/

I imagine this further doesn't help the poor either.

Merkley's an idiot. We elect idiots, we get what we deserve.

If I were to draw up a state constitution, it would include a requirement that anyone running for congress pass an economics 101 final exam since every action they make affects the economy.

Technically in Illinois, a Prius has 1/2 the emissions of a Tesla.
https://static.scientificamerican.co...cle%20map.jpeg

I'm starting to think it needs to be an engineering degree, but I doubt that would help either. A lot of the people I know from school (all of us in engineering) who were very book smart weren't very good at the common sense area. They didn't do as well as we thought after school (besides a couple that ended up at the big names) either.

We are going to have to get started on drafting this common sense entrance exam.

That rebate expired in 2016 and it applied to all alternative fuel vehicles not just EVs. (Electric, E85, B20, natural gas, propane, and hydrogen fueled vehicles)

https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/4368