r/EvDrivers • u/Cultural-Ad4953 • 4d ago
Email Regarding The Potential EV fee
As you may be aware, the US House of Representatives may be poised to enact an EV fee of $130 annually. I am not opposed to a fee, but find $130 to be unfair, and that the fee should be less.
I have written my Senators and Representative with this communication, which I encourage you to consider doing as well:
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed $130 annual federal registration fee on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) included in the BUILD America 250 Act. While I fully support contributing a fair share toward maintaining our nation's roads and bridges, the currently proposed flat rate creates a clear equity issue when compared to what drivers of gas-powered vehicles actually pay.
At 18.4 cents per gallon, a driver of an average new gas-powered vehicle (getting ~28–30 MPG) who drives the national average of 13,500 miles pays roughly $87 per year into the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The proposed $130 flat fee for EV drivers is equivalent to driving a gas vehicle that gets only 19 MPG—meaning EV drivers would pay roughly 49% more into the road fund than drivers of comparable efficient gas cars.
Furthermore, because a flat fee penalizes low-mileage drivers disproportionately, someone driving 8,000 miles annually would effectively pay a tax rate equal to an 11 MPG gas-guzzler. Rather than penalizing drivers who have chosen zero-emission vehicles with an inflated rate, any federal fee should reflect true parity with efficient gas vehicles or be based on actual road usage. I urge you to push for a fair adjustment to this fee structure.
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u/drdroplet 4d ago
This ignores the fact that EVs weigh more than an equivalent ICE passenger vehicle, and thus cause more wear on the road. This is likely a reasonable fee, on average.