Illinois might charge $1k/year to own an electric vehicle | Hacker News Reader

Illinois might charge $1k/year to own an electric vehicle

chicagotribune.com

15 pointsnotyourday5 comments

While this fee is outrageous, I think EV specific fees are inevitable as gas tax revenue dwindles.

The fairest would be use-based but most people seem fundamentally opposed to tracking through tags or mileage (some people are okay with it when it results in lower insurance rates though). Trucks have the most impact on the roads so it may be possible to impose mandatory mileage or tracking via tags.

So instead I think we will end up with a flat tax per vehicle.

Edit: fairest as in people who use the most pay the most. However, exclusionary housing policies end up shifting that burden in a way that results in fairly regressive policies. Just look at the Bay Area which happily passed high bridge tolls but is much slower to build housing on the peninsula.

Honestly, a simple mileage based tax would be better. They can calibrate it to approximate the gas tax equivalent, or give a slight discount for being EV. Doesn't require any tracking or analytics or anything. Have people self-report when they do their registration each year, and make it tax fraud if they under-report.

Mileage tax + Weight*Multiplier would be fairest.

  Doesn't require any tracking or analytics or anything. Have people self-report

But how many would do that accurately?

If police pull you over, check the mileage on the car at the same time as your license and registration.

If you reprogram the car to fake the mileage, that's already fraud.

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