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Texas new EV tax
- Thread starter tewest86
- Start date
OxBrew
Member
I don't know how to feel about this. States need to make up the loss of gas tax to maintain roads somehow. Here in Washington State we talked about a similar fee (I think they added it? I forget).
Seems counterintuitive, since lots of states and the feds are offering incentives to buy, and then turning around and asking for fees to own them.
I did the math in Washington, and the amount we drive annually we are still spending about half or less per year vs gas tax on a car that gets 25/28 city/highway (about what we replaced with the Y).
Someone has to pay to fix the roads. Any better suggestions?
Seems counterintuitive, since lots of states and the feds are offering incentives to buy, and then turning around and asking for fees to own them.
I did the math in Washington, and the amount we drive annually we are still spending about half or less per year vs gas tax on a car that gets 25/28 city/highway (about what we replaced with the Y).
Someone has to pay to fix the roads. Any better suggestions?
Yes. We all pay tax per gas equivalent. Vehicles that run off of propane get a free pass? There is more to this then a tax. This is big oil, big dealer network at work here.
The gas tax according to google is only 20 cents per gallon.
$200.00 buys you lots of miles per year. Close to 30,000 miles which is well above the national vehicle yearly mileage. Why $200? Why not $500. How did they come to this? It's simple. It's just enough buzz to stifle the incentive of buying electric. This is a win for big car dealers. Apparently, Elon is not cozy enough with the governor.
OxBrew
Member
That sucks. Move to Washington State.
$97/year EV fee on top of registration.
Gas tax in WA is 0.494/gallon. In our old Subaru that got 25mpg average, and at our usual 15,000 miles per year, we used 600 gallons of gas and would have paid $296 a year in gas tax.
So yeah, $200 EV fee is a lot, but still cheaper than what some of us paid for gas taxes.
$97/year EV fee on top of registration.
Gas tax in WA is 0.494/gallon. In our old Subaru that got 25mpg average, and at our usual 15,000 miles per year, we used 600 gallons of gas and would have paid $296 a year in gas tax.
So yeah, $200 EV fee is a lot, but still cheaper than what some of us paid for gas taxes.
OxBrew
Member
So that $200 fee in Texas is equal to a car that gets 15mpg combined driving 15,000 miles, exactly. So it's a level playing field with a lot of pickups? I guess it at least has some sort of internal logic?
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
dbeiler
Member
Texans pay $0.20 in state tax and $0.183 in federal tax per gallon of gasoline. That's a total of $0.38 per gallon. $200 EV fee is equivalent to 13K annual miles @ 25mpg or 15K annual miles @ 30mpg. The willfully ignorant and selectively outraged will conveniently omit federal taxes in most of these arguments I've come across.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
...except none of those registration fees will be shared with the other 49 states.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
You sure about that?
Texas may abolish annual vehicle inspections, but Metroplex drivers aren’t off the hook
Yearly vehicle inspections are pain in the butt, but should Texas stop requiring it? There’s a push to end safety inspections for good.
I'll believe it when I see it. For Tesla it isn't much anyway. I think I paid $8 locally or something cheap like that. I would still come out ahead to pay the $8 and cut the annual fee to something reasonable. I already pay a crap ton in property taxes. Sales tax is high here. Insurance is higher for me than any other state I've lived in the past 10 years.
Maybe Texas should encourage tourism like Florida does and offload some of the tax burden on the tourists.
Maybe Texas should encourage tourism like Florida does and offload some of the tax burden on the tourists.
What do you mean? It’s signed into law and starts in September 2023.I'll believe it when I see it. For Tesla it isn't much anyway. I think I paid $8 locally or something cheap like that. I would still come out ahead to pay the $8 and cut the annual fee to something reasonable. I already pay a crap ton in property taxes. Sales tax is high here. Insurance is higher for me than any other state I've lived in the past 10 years.
Maybe Texas should encourage tourism like Florida does and offload some of the tax burden on the tourists.
I was referring to this. As for the EV Texas registration issue, there has been a long thread in the Texas subform. Just now making its way to the main area so to speak.
Texas may abolish annual vehicle inspections, but Metroplex drivers aren’t off the hook
OxBrew
Member
MPGe does not pay for the upkeep of the road. It really should be a single fee for all cars with some multiplier of curb weight x miles actually driven. Divide the annual cost of the road repairs by the weight miles everyone drove that year, and send them a bill.
Eliminate gas taxes entirely.
Thank you. I agree 100%. Similarly, if the government wanted to push people towards EVs, you don't need EV subsidy or mandates. Just start removing gasoline subsidies and remove red tape for vehicle/megawatt charging. The market will shift quickly on its own.
ChooseFreedom
Member
That would require politicians to stop taking Big Oil $, and actually care about their constituents.
It's TX. They rely on oil. They'd be cutting off their own feet. They want to be independent, always have.
The TX elite owe their fortunes to oil. They'll hang on down to the very last drop before ever changing.
And this is from a state that is actually better set up than most states to use renewable energy. Tons of sun year round, lots of baron acreage ideal for solar farms and windmills. But they fight progress at every turn.
Why change the status quo when they're profiting so much? To hell with the future!
... and not all gas tax slated for road expansion and upkeep goes towards the roads anyway.
This makes sense but will not happen. It's the reason why I strongly feel that Big dealer and big oil was behind this $200.00 EV tax.
I think that's probable, yes. ...but I'm okay with it. If part of road upkeep is from gas sales, then recooping that money at registration for EVs is a fine solution. The amount of the tax should be comparable to amount people would pay in gas taxes per year.
OxBrew
Member
I know that's a rhetorical question, and you are 100% right, but there's an answer actually: because you. an make a crap ton of money. Being part of the energy transition has bigger long term upside than oil, no question. And solving hard problems is really fun. My favorite thing in the world (career wise) is to be part of a team of engineers and lab techs that create solutions to really tough challenges that no single individual could do alone. It can be hell for a while, but once you get through, it's the best sense of accomplishment you can get.
Just chugging along doing the same thing you've done for literally a century (more) is mind numbingly boring.
But changing entrenched technology and corporate culture is usually impossible. So yeah, gotta squeeze every drop of cash out of that goose before it dies. Would be better to pivot sooner, save the oil for things that don't burn it, or just leave it in the ground.
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