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Comment by dangrossman | Hacker News Reader

> those SUV's pay the taxes that keep the roads (somewhat) functional for the EVs to drive on

Hi, I live in North Carolina. I pay more road taxes on my EV than I ever paid in state gas taxes, so I guess it's the other way around: I'm keeping the roads functional for the SUVs to drive on. North Carolina, like 30+ other states, already charges an annual fee to all electric vehicle owners to make up for the gas tax. It's been collected since 2014. It's $130 per year, which brings my annual registration and property tax bill to about $500 per vehicle.

Here's a map of the states with EV taxes to make up for gas taxes. It's from 2021, so already out of date, but most of the US map is colored in with fees ranging from $50 to $235. North Carolina proposed raising the tax from $130 to $275 in 2019, but the bill didn't pass.

https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2021-2022/Tran...

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The average people pay in gas tax in NC is $200. So you are getting a discount, and one that does not increase the more you drive. You get to lower your overall tax just by driving more, so the more you drive the less you pay. The more you damage the roads the less you pay.

https://www.ncdot.gov/about-us/how-we-operate/finance-budget...

They should have raised the tax in 2019 to fix the roads.

I'm not getting a discount, as my previous vehicle did not get only 22 miles per gallon, nor did I drive 12000 miles a year. I'm paying more than twice as much towards the roads now. Saying that I will pay less taxes by driving more is nonsense, since the tax does not change whether I drive 1 mile or a million. Anecdotally, all the roads in my area (northeast Raleigh) are in pristine shape, as were I85/I95 in NC when I took road trips in the past.

Raleigh is not North Carolina. It's a pretty big state. But that is the problem, we do not think communally anymore. As long as I am ok, so what, right?

Report Ranks North Carolina As Having Some Of The Worst Infrastructure In America https://www.charlottestories.com/report-ranks-north-carolina...

You're really on the attack, huh. That report puts North Carolina right in the middle on road conditions, with just 6% in poor shape. I've driven from the Cherokee reservations on the western border to the islands off the east coast without running into any bad roads. They were much worse when I lived in Pennsylvania, since Pennsylvania has actual winters to tear up the asphalt.

I’m having a debate with you, since when is having a debate with someone being “on the attack”?

Out of the 50 states it ranks 39th. That’s not good.

https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/north-caroli...

18,407 bridges, 9.3% of which were structurally deficient in 2019

14% of roads are in poor condition. Each motorist pays $500 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair

https://www.wral.com/report-bad-roads-cost-nc-drivers-billio...

Washington, D.C.-based transportation nonprofit TRIP says deteriorating, congested and unsafe roads across North Carolina cost the state’s drivers a total of $10.3 billion annually. In the Raleigh and Durham areas, it works out to $1,442 per driver each year.

The NC Chamber Foundation is calling for the state to phase out the gas tax and replace it with other sources of revenue. It advocates for a mileage-based user fee, adjustments to the highway use tax and dedicating part of the statewide sales tax to transportation projects to help make up the difference.

Keep in mind that road damage scales with (axel weight)^4.

If the goal is to make a road user pay proportionally for the damage they do a per-gallon tax is not the solution.

But essentially no light vehicles damage the roads at all. Virtually all road damage is caused by heavy trucks. If legislators cared about charging for road damage, they would heavily tax diesel.

Or maybe if politicians had put together a bill to improve roads and bridges and highways. Some kind of bill to improve the Infrastructure of the country everywhere...

Now why don't politicians do something like that...

I hope you do not think I am some kind of right wing MAGA type...

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