Current Events > Texas just added an electric vehicle tax

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-electric-vehicle-tax-law/269-3eb34c1d-dbdf-48d4-b31c-76e0a913b3f2

AUSTIN, Texas On Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an electric vehicle tax into law.
Senate Bill 505 requires electric vehicle owners to pay $400 to register a new electric vehicle, on top of other fees. Renewing registration will cost $200.

So now I'll have to pay $200 more when I renew my registration, it seems. On one hand, it makes sense because I'm not paying for gas and therefore not paying any gas taxes... But it still sucks to have to pay an extra $200 per year when I haven't had to before.

This is the opposite of what government policy should be doing

Antifar posted...

This is the opposite of what government policy should be doing

Its Texas. Its a miracle they havent tried to outright ban them.

And after Elon moved himself and his company to Texas. One day he'll realize the people he panders to politically and on Twitter are not the people buying his cars.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


The only thing bigger than the land mass of Texas is its government.

Musk in shambles

Somewhere, Big Oil is smiling.

TX state registration fee and state gas tax are used to support public roads in Texas since there is no state income tax. The state registration fee already varies based on the type of vehicle and/or weight, with bigger and heavier costing more since they have an increased impact on road damage. While this tax sounds odd, it genuinely is replacing (1,000 miles worth) of what is lost from reduced gas tax.

Every state handles taxes differently, and in Texas the ones hit hardest are actually property owners in the nicest areas.

From day one everyone who's head wasn't in the sand knew there would be extra taxes on electric vehicles to help maintain infrastructure, here it is.

Were_Wyrm posted...

From day one everyone who's head wasn't in the sand knew there would be extra taxes on electric vehicles to help maintain infrastructure, here it is.

Yeah, it was going to happen sooner or later.

I mean, it makes sense, on a tax level, as they have to offset collecting less taxes on gas purchases.

Were_Wyrm posted...

From day one everyone who's head wasn't in the sand knew there would be extra taxes on electric vehicles to help maintain infrastructure, here it is.

there's a difference between a tax to maintain infrastructure, and a "fuck you" tax from a republican shilling oil

Isn't Texas also insisting that electric cars must have dealerships?

I don't understand why people have such a hard-on for protecting a shitty sales pipeline when everything could be bought directly online now.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

there's a difference between a tax to maintain infrastructure, and a "fuck you" tax from a republican shilling oil

The tax to maintain infrastructure comes from gas sales, what do electric cars not use? The only other solutions are to add taxes to charging stations, but not everyone uses them because they can charge at home, add a tax to all electricity usage which taxes everyone not just ev owners, or additional taxes on the car itself.

Starks posted...

Isn't Texas also insisting that electric cars must have dealerships?

I don't understand why people have such a hard-on for protecting a shitty sales pipeline when everything could be bought directly online now.

Not sure about Texas but Mississippi did this. There's one Tesla dealer in the state and IIRC, Rivian has none.

Starks posted...

Isn't Texas also insisting that electric cars must have dealerships?

I don't understand why people have such a hard-on for protecting a shitty sales pipeline when everything could be bought directly online now.

Yes, which is another weird thing. Normally when you buy a car, the cost of the vehicle tax gets rolled into the price so you just pay (or finance) once and you're driving off the lot with a registration that is good for 2 years.

With Tesla, you pay Tesla the cost of the vehicle and then you have to pay the vehicle tax directly to the state when you register it to get your license plates. My lender worked out a way to just add the vehicle tax amount to the loan and send that directly to me so I could pay the tax that way.

But republicans hate tax, so why impose another tax?!?!

Heineken14 posted...

But republicans hate tax, so why impose another tax?!?!

That Koch money looks real nice lining their pockets.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

there's a difference between a tax to maintain infrastructure, and a "fuck you" tax from a republican shilling oil

Not in this case. If you comprehended posts made before yours, you would know why

Texas law makers bought by oil and gas don't want green energy to go over 50%.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3942984-texas-bills-renewables-fossil-fuel-plants/

"That means that if utilities come up short or want to run their operations on more than 50 percent renewables theyll have to make up the difference by buying up dispatchable credits that in practice can only be created by natural gas producers.

In effect, the two bills require renewable energy companies to subsidize the construction of new fossil fuel plants, Luke Metzger of the advocacy group Environment Texas wrote in a statement.

In their commentary on the bill, even its opponents emphasized the importance even necessity of what the state legislature attempted: an unprecedented attempt to bolster a resilient, isolated grid that could absorb millions of additional residents and the continual battering of heat and cold. "

That's because Texas recognises that electric cars don't do anything for the environment and will be using the tax money to replace the fossil fuels in their energy mix with nuckear, right? Right?

Man, its a lot less fun writing sarcasm when you know from the third word its sarcasm.

CableZL posted...

On one hand, it makes sense because I'm not paying for gas and therefore not paying any gas taxes

So, you understand why, yet resist anyway. Welcome to the elephant party.

But really, "user fee" sort of taxes are sensible and harmless.

name_unknown posted...

In their commentary on the bill, even its opponents emphasized the importance even necessity of what the state legislature attempted: an unprecedented attempt to bolster a resilient, isolated grid that could absorb millions of additional residents and the continual battering of heat and cold. "

"Our own damn grid" is going to keep biting Texas in the ass, indefinitely.

brestugo posted...

Somewhere, Big Oil is smiling.

That somewhere is Texas.

A tax on electric vehicles to replace the revenue lost by the gas tax is fine in theory, but the last article I read on this suggested that the electric vehicle tax is 3 to 4 times what the average fuel efficient car would be paying. So it really is more of a fuck you than anything

CableZL posted...

On one hand, it makes sense because I'm not paying for gas and therefore not paying any gas taxes

You're also buying a more expensive car whose purpose is to have a smaller environmental impact than gas cars. imo that alone should offset the cost of infrastructure.

DarthAragorn posted...

A tax on electric vehicles to replace the revenue lost by the gas tax is fine in theory, but the last article I read on this suggested that the electric vehicle tax is 3 to 4 times what the average fuel efficient car would be paying. So it really is more of a fuck you than anything

Post 21 suggests Texas knows its electric grid is shit, without having to admit that its electric grid is shit.

Electric cars are wear on the roads, and wear on the janky texas grid. It's at least twice the societal drag.

Heavy commercial vehicles cause like 99% of road damage everywhere. Their vehicle tax may be higher, but not nearly proportional to the amount of public costs they incur.

I say crank up the taxes on them instead.

ZMythos posted...

You're also buying a more expensive car whose purpose is to have a smaller environmental impact than gas cars. imo that alone should offset the cost of infrastructure.

That has nothing with the wear and tear the car has on the infrastructure. And, iirc, electric cars weigh more than a comparable ICE. So, they actually cause more damage to the roads.

Mearcstapa posted...

I say crank up the taxes on them instead.

Found the rail lobbyist

Musk: "I'm moving operations from California to Texas for tax reasons."
Texas:

The fee is intended to ensure that electric vehicle owners pay their fare share toward highway costs, which are usually covered by a 20 cent-per-gallon gas tax paid by owners of gas-fueled and hybrid vehicles.

Naturally, the reason is excluded from the op.

fare share

can't tell if typo...

Lots of other states are soon to follow, they have to offset the loss of tax revenue somehow.

How about a tire tax?
Gas and electric cars both need new tires periodically, and bigass commercial vehicles need a lot of them.

Think of it this way. Less of a middle finger and more of the fact that electric is getting more adoption; this time on the state treasury level.

Questionmarktarius posted...

How about a tire tax?
Gas and electric cars both need new tires periodically, and bigass commercial vehicles need a lot of them.

Toll roads already charge more per axle so really what you're asking for is just more toll roads

Tyranthraxus posted...

Toll roads already charge more per axle so really what you're asking for is just more toll roads

There's no toll roads, when all of them are.

ZMythos posted...

You're also buying a more expensive car whose purpose is to have a smaller environmental impact than gas cars. imo that alone should offset the cost of infrastructure.

"Only the little people pay taxes"

Questionmarktarius posted...

"Only the little people pay taxes"

Not my argument but OK.

ZMythos posted...

Not my argument but OK.

Sounds like your argument is that driving an environmentally friendly vehicle somehow shunts money into state coffers.