| There’s a sentiment among some in Florida to start charging EV drivers a flat fee since they don’t pay gas taxes. At first glance it seems makes sense since EV motorists like me are essentially getting a free ride when it comes to paying to maintain our roads. But here’s the problem: an EV flat fee isn’t fair, at least if it’s used for roads in the same manner as today’s gas taxes are. EV motorists that only drive short distances would be over-taxed while EV motorists that drive long distances would still come out ahead. In a recent Florida Times-Union column the president of the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association said establishing an electric vehicle fee would create, an “equitable system.” But how is it equitable if all drivers aren’t treated the same? A better solution would be switching all vehicles – regardless of fuel-type – to a miles-driven tax. In the 2021 Florida Legislative session State Senator Jeff Brandes introduced a flat fee EV bill that failed. Although the stated intent of that bill was to help fund the expansion of Florida’s EV charging infrastructure it also opened the door for more discussions on how to tax EV drivers which is likely to resurface during the 2022 session. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Whether public dollars should be used to expand the charging infrastructure is open for debate but if public dollars are used, yes it does make sense for EV drivers to foot the bill. Our roads are the much bigger question. At some point EVs will grow to the point that the private sector will take over most of the charging infrastructure. If we’re going to be proactive we need to look for a way for all drivers to contribute equally to roads – regardless of the type of fuel they use. What better way than miles driven since that would be fuel agnostic and not penalize drivers that only drive a few hundred miles a year? The trick would be figuring out how to implement it without some people trying to cheat the system by-low balling their declared mileage when the annual tax bill comes due. But even there, Florida requires odometer readings when buying and selling a vehicle, so there should be a way to do a cross-check and back bill anyone who fibs with a hefty fine or maybe even a license suspension. Since Florida requires an annual registration, why not make a per mile fee part of the renewal? It should be doable to require either an odometer photo be either uploaded or mailed in with the annual registration. What do you think? Let’s start a thoughtful discussion in the YouTube comments. If you like EV Rider please give it a like and subscribe. |