Charged EVs | US House moves to eliminate EV charging infrastructure funding and impose new taxes on EV owners

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has released its latest version of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, popular known as the highway bill.

As it stands, the bill would not reauthorize funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. It would also repeal the DOT’s Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities program and Carbon Reduction Program, and substantially reduce funding for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.

Worst of all from the consumer-pocketbook standpoint, the proposed bill also imposes a new $130 annual EV tax, which would increase to $150 over time.

The ostensible justification for EV taxes, which many states already impose, is that EV drivers should pay their fair share into the Highway Trust Fund, which is financed by gasoline taxes. However, the proposed tax (like most of the state taxes) would require EV drivers to pay more than ICE drivers pay.

According to Transportation for America, in 2019, the average gas-powered vehicle owner paid roughly $95 in federal gas taxes each year. (It could be worse: earlier versions of the bill included a $250 annual tax on EVs, and another bill, championed by Senator Deb Fischer [R-Nebraska] and Representative Dusty Johnson [R-Texas] would impose a one-time $1,000 fee on all EVs.

“Though significant progress on charging infrastructure deployment has been made in recent years—thanks in part to the NEVI and CFI programs—a lack of access to charging remains a top concern among the many Americans interested in purchasing an EV,” said Ben Prochazka, Executive Director of the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit organization that promotes EV-friendly policies. “To ensure that charging infrastructure deployment keeps pace with increasing adoption, Congress should maintain current levels of funding for these critical infrastructure programs.”

“While all drivers should pay their fair share to fund transportation infrastructure, an unfair and punitive tax on EV drivers, higher than what most internal combustion engine vehicle drivers pay, is the wrong direction,” Prochazka adds. “Congress should instead pursue a fuel-neutral approach to addressing our transportation funding challenge.”

Source: The Electrification Coalition