Georgia will tax you 200$ a year for owning an electric car.

[Real_PhillBert]

This is beyond illegal, they can't tax you for not needing gas. Next they'll tax people for walking or riding bikes instead of using a car.

Just like they cant tax you for not having health insurance? Wait...

 

This is perfectly legal though. It's just a road tax to pay for roads, which is normally payed for by gas taxes.

[bobhays]

GUYYYYSSSSSS think about it. It was called the gas tax before electric cars where a thing. It's more like a road tax for infrastructure and electric cars drive on the same roads and have the same wear so why should they be exempt from tax. Of course if there is something I am missing please let me know but as far as I can see this actually makes sense. It's not like electric car owners are paying more than the gas counterparts, they both have to pay it.

[bobhays]

This is beyond illegal, they can't tax you for not needing gas. Next they'll tax people for walking or riding bikes instead of using a car.

 

 

 

Some governments or states are a bit money hungry...

 

 

Best quote ever....

 

 

 

America, land of progress...

 

 

Okay people, this is sign we have to fuck up the planet. Fart as much as you can, take dumps on the streets, piss on the walls,

throw your trash on the grass and fuck up the planet more.

 

 

v.v why is everyone afraid of good change? are they afraid that if they accept electric cars as a thing that they are saying global climate change is a thing? or is it they just dont like Superior technology?

Just thought you guys should read my post and the one above

[Yog]

If they can tax gas cars I don't see why they can't tax electric cars.

 

Ultimately this is a consequence of selectively taxing certain products and creating a government that doesn't adjust to the variability of tax revenue.

[Takata]

If you're not satisfed with the $200 per year tax being flat, you could make it proportional to mileage instead.

[kainobean]

GUYYYYSSSSSS think about it. It was called the gas tax before electric cars where a thing. It's more like a road tax for infrastructure and electric cars drive on the same roads and have the same wear so why should they be exempt from tax. Of course if there is something I am missing please let me know but as far as I can see this actually makes sense. It's not like electric car owners are paying more than the gas counterparts, they both have to pay it.

 

yes i agree they still need to pay for road damage but things like this just discourages people from buying electric making it take longer to be adopted... i really wish they could find a better way to pay for roads than to make it look like they are trying to single out electric car owners. i live in michigan and we have some of the worst roads out there right now and i hate driving on them and we dont have the money to pay for it cause of reasons. so i understand taxing for roads but this is going to drive many poeple away from electric cause they wont see the reason for it and think they are being attacked.

 

thats just how i feel about the situation.

[Stuff_]

A flat tax will make electric car owners feel like they are getting ripped off, but there isn't a much better way to do it. Charging more per kw/hr (add a road tax) at public charging stations would help, but the majority of energy would still be untaxed because people charge their vehicles at home.

 

People charging their cars at home is equivalent to a farmer using untaxed red-dyed diesel in his/her pickup truck they use to drive to the grocery store; that is a very costly offense. They dye the fuel so it is easy to catch people using it on public roads. They can't put red dye in electricity, so a flat tax is being implemented instead. Liquid propane and natural gas vehicles are also popular for fleets around here; similar taxation issues pop up just the same. Either a flat fee is introduced just like they are doing in GA for EVs, or it is made illegal to "fill up" using untaxed fuel. It is easier to enforce taxation by maintaining a yearly registration fee than it is to attempt to track and validate a vehicle's refueling records. This is especially true when the fuel is not easily identified as "taxed" or "non-taxed" such as electricity/LPG/natural gas.

 

Any new taxation method is going to leave someone feeling ripped off, but this is just an attempt to fill a gap that was created by the inability to enforce a road tax on electricity used to charge EVs. This isn't really an extra tax for electric vehicle owners, it is just a way to start collecting road tax they were not paying in the first place (by purchasing taxed fuel).

 

Bottom line is the roads and bridges in the US are in a dangerous state right right now. Road tax on fuel is not high enough as it is (there is a good reason petrol/diesel is 2-4x more expensive in other countries), and electric cars are not paying any such equivalent tax unless "extra" fees are introduced like they are doing in GA. Maybe they want to avoid having a bridge collapse with hundreds of vehicles on it like what happened in the twin cities back in '07 during rush hour: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge

 

I wish all of these taxes could be collected directly proportional to usage, but this is not practical with EVs. I do get a bit worked up when I think about the almost $200/year in registration costs (more than insurance!) I pay for two cars that are on the road less than 1000miles/year, but I get it.

 

IMO, car dealerships lobbying to not allow the direct sales of Teslas is an example of unfair rules again electric vehicles. A new registration fee to make up for previously uncollected road tax is not.

Just to follow up your post about the I-35W bridge in Mississippi.. 

"The deadly collapse of a Minneapolis bridge last year began at steel plates in a main truss, attributable to a design flaw and not corrosion, federal safety investigators said Thursday."

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-11-13-628592230_x.htm

 

You're misleading so badly, it's unreal. 

[zacRupnow]

GUYYYYSSSSSS think about it. It was called the gas tax before electric cars where a thing. It's more like a road tax for infrastructure and electric cars drive on the same roads and have the same wear so why should they be exempt from tax. Of course if there is something I am missing please let me know but as far as I can see this actually makes sense. It's not like electric car owners are paying more than the gas counterparts, they both have to pay it.

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

[zacRupnow]

^^^ Should've multiquoted ^^^

 

yes i agree they still need to pay for road damage but things like this just discourages people from buying electric making it take longer to be adopted... i really wish they could find a better way to pay for roads than to make it look like they are trying to single out electric car owners. i live in michigan and we have some of the worst roads out there right now and i hate driving on them and we dont have the money to pay for it cause of reasons. so i understand taxing for roads but this is going to drive many poeple away from electric cause they wont see the reason for it and think they are being attacked.

 

thats just how i feel about the situation.

[zacRupnow]

yes i agree they still need to pay for road damage but things like this just discourages people from buying electric making it take longer to be adopted... i really wish they could find a better way to pay for roads than to make it look like they are trying to single out electric car owners. i live in michigan and we have some of the worst roads out there right now and i hate driving on them and we dont have the money to pay for it cause of reasons. so i understand taxing for roads but this is going to drive many poeple away from electric cause they wont see the reason for it and think they are being attacked.

 

thats just how i feel about the situation.

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

 

If they can tax gas cars I don't see why they can't tax electric cars.

 

Ultimately this is a consequence of selectively taxing certain products and creating a government that doesn't adjust to the variability of tax revenue.

If you're not satisfed with the $200 per year tax being flat, you could make it proportional to mileage instead.

The millage is already paid for through you electrical bill from recharging the car.

 

GUYYYYSSSSSS think about it. It was called the gas tax before electric cars where a thing. It's more like a road tax for infrastructure and electric cars drive on the same roads and have the same wear so why should they be exempt from tax. Of course if there is something I am missing please let me know but as far as I can see this actually makes sense. It's not like electric car owners are paying more than the gas counterparts, they both have to pay it.

Just like they cant tax you for not having health insurance? Wait...

 

This is perfectly legal though. It's just a road tax to pay for roads, which is normally payed for by gas taxes.

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

[patrickjp93]

As someone from Columbus Metropolitan area in Georgia, the only roads the tax dollars pay for are repairs on new roads. Old roads are almost never worked on. Ever. They're more interested in widening shortcut roads that people take for work, which cuts into homeowner land.

Tell me how that's fair.

It's not about being equitable. It's about efficiency. Microeconomics 101.

[Misanthrope]

???

 

Yeah because roads are free. /s

 

Electric cars do no less wear on roads than gas cars, why exactly should there not be a way for them to pay just like everyone else? 

 

IMHO this makes sense. 

 

Well the logic is not that complicated: It's easier to find other ways to fund roads than to find ways not to continue to choke out the fucking planet with emissions from cars. One would think that incentives to cut down on the choking part would be a higher priority to sensible people, but fuck all that we need nice, well maintained roads right?

[patrickjp93]

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

The millage is already paid for through you electrical bill from recharging the car.

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

Yes. Otherwise you end up with a tragedy of the commons and the roads are destroyed due to lack of funds to pay for them.

[zacRupnow]

Yes. Otherwise you end up with a tragedy of the commons and the roads are destroyed due to lack of funds to pay for them.

Gas tax is not what pays for roads and never was.

[zacRupnow]

Yeah because roads are free. /s

No they aren't, their construction and maintenance is paid for with everyone's yearly income tax.

[patrickjp93]

Gas tax is not what pays for roads and never was.

Decades of federal bookkeeping call BS.

[Misanthrope]

No they aren't, their construction and maintenance is paid for with everyone's yearly income tax.

 

I thought they were partially funded with gas tax, hence the reason for this nonsense

[zacRupnow]

I thought they were partially funded with gas tax, hence the reason for this nonsense

 

Decades of federal bookkeeping call BS.

Partially from Income Tax and Sales tax - which includes gas sales.

They can't charge someone a restaurants sales tax if they only eat food from their personal garden, its the same problem if that happened; The garden is paid for by the water bill, the gas car is paid for by gas sales, the electric car is paid for by the electric bill. Either car used still gives money to the government.

[bobhays]

There are taxes for roads already. Should Bicyclists and runners pay a tax for not needing gas too?

I admit I may be mistaken which is what I said in my post, but aren't the roads payed for through the gas tax. And if so electric cars haven't been paying the gas tax until now so it makes sense that they pay it now. Please correct me where I am wrong.

[Misanthrope]

Partially from Income Tax and Sales tax - which includes gas sales.

They can't charge someone a restaurants sales tax if they only eat food from their personal garden, its the same problem if that happened; The garden is paid for by the water bill, the gas car is paid for by gas sales, the electric car is paid for by the electric bill. Either car used still gives money to the government.

 

How about taxing car insurance? It's mandatory by law to drive and it's needed regardless of the type of vehicle

 

There you have it, a vote for Misanthrope is a both for fair taxation!

[Guest Kloaked]

It's not about being equitable. It's about efficiency. Microeconomics 101.

 

If by efficiency you mean cutting into home-owner land (talking about people's already small yards) to shave off a couple minutes drive, then fine. 

[Real_PhillBert]

Well the logic is not that complicated: It's easier to find other ways to fund roads than to find ways not to continue to choke out the fucking planet with emissions from cars. One would think that incentives to cut down on the choking part would be a higher priority to sensible people, but fuck all that we need nice, well maintained roads right?

Road acquaintance is necessary no matter what you may think, and the normal way that is funded is by taxes including gas taxes. Now we have cars that are using and wearing the roads just like normal cars but not helping to pay for the repair of the roads. This is a very simple solution and isn't complicated. 

 

The argument of saving the environment is separate from the need to maintain a road network. 

[Real_PhillBert]

No they aren't, their construction and maintenance is paid for with everyone's yearly income tax.

Not always the case, in almost (if not all) all states road updates and maintenance are funded in part or whole by gas taxes. This is just a way to maintain that network.

 

Just because you are buying a vehicle that does not use any gasoline does not mean that you are not causing any wear on the roads. 

[KamiKatze]

Am i the only one around here who thinks that the technology is not ready yet and electric cars shouldn't be subsidised? I mean, lithium ion batteries and that stuff.

[zacRupnow]

How about taxing car insurance? It's mandatory by law to drive and it's needed regardless of the type of vehicle

 

There you have it, a vote for Misanthrope is a both for fair taxation!

Driving, roads, cars. What I've been saying is they're already taxed.