# Consumer Reports on excess EV fees



## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

My apologies as it was late and I've been successfully working on my SR+ Model 3. Per suggestions, the bold and italics are '*proposed*' from the article. Personally I would have preferred to digitize the report but not wanting to cause a copyright fracas, did a hurried report:

The February 2020, _Consumer Reports,_ has a map showing excessive EV fees by state, pp. 14. Alabama is listed at 80% excess (i.e., nearly twice as much.) The States listed and their *EXCESS* tax/fees:

191% - *Arizona*
185% - _*Missouri*_
142% - *Texas*
132% - Arkansas
130% - Wyoming
112% - _*Minnesota*_
100% - Mississippi
80% - Alabama
74% - *Oklahoma*
61% - *North Carolina*
48% - Georgia
45% - North Dakota
37% - West Virgina
37% - Washington
36% - Ohio
21% - Idaho
<20% - Kansas, Missouri, *Pennsylvania*, *New Hampshire*
IMHO, carry a copy of this article and give it to any politician soliciting votes and donations with the comment,"Your donation was given to the Dept. of Revenue."

*BACKGROUND*: Proposed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), this excessive tax/fee is equivalent to a 'hippy' tax. Like the old 1960s legislation that sought to ban clothing made out an American flag worn by long haired and bearded, it is aimed at EV owners alone and often passed with State gas tax increases (at least in Alabama.)

Source: https://whnt.com/2019/03/13/rebuild-alabama-act-adds-new-registration-fee-for-ev-and-hybrid-drivers/

_Whitt isn't pleased with the brand new $200 annual registration fee on EVs, $100 for hybrids, that will start next year. It will then increase by $3 every four years starting in 2023._​
So let's work the problem backwards from an 18% Alabama gas tax that we had last year:

$200 / 18% = $1,111.11 of gasoline not bought by this EV owner
$1,111.11 / $2.22 (gas buddy) = 500.5 gallons of regular
16,532 miles in 10 months ~= 19,846 miles projected first year of SR+ Model 3 ownership
approximately 20,000 miles / 500 gallons ~= *40 MPG tax equivalent*
Now I'm retired but even when working, 20k miles per year was common in our Prius. We could afford a mobile lifestyle because the Prius got 52-58 MPG.

So what would a 'fair tax' be?

wheel count - every wheel costs $25 including trailers
$50 motorcycles
$100 ordinary cars and pickups
$150 dual-wheeled pickups and delivery vans
$50 light duty trailers
$100 dual-wheeled trailers
$150 RVs

eliminate or greatly reduce the gas tax, everyone has a farm equipment fuel tax
a fuel tax of say 5-9% would increase 'out of State' buyers to fund our roads

So how am I dealing with it? Make more miles!!

Our EVs cost 1/3 per mile lower than an efficient Prius and closer to 1/5th per mile cheaper than the 'white collar cowboys' driving ego-mobile pickups. You know the ones without a scratch, spec of mud, and perfect chromed tow ball sitting on oversized, knobby tires. If I go from 20k miles per year to 40k miles per year, the tax equivalent becomes *80 MPG*.

Bob Wilson

ps. I test drove my SR+ Model 3 this evening and my repairs worked! I have one kludge to back out but now I can drive 120 miles to Nashville to get the right part and do more Tesla tricks.


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## Gordon87 (Mar 5, 2019)

Thanks. Did they include Illinois? As of 2020, EV annual registration fee is $100 more than non-EV fee, approximately 66% higher.


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## msjulie (Feb 6, 2018)

I get fees to offset no-gas-use but WTF about all the taxes we pay that subsidize the fossil fuel industry!

Sorry for rant..


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## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

Bob - What are excess fees?


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Gordon87 said:


> Thanks. Did they include Illinois? As of 2020, EV annual registration fee is $100 more than non-EV fee, approximately 66% higher.





Feathermerchant said:


> Bob - What are excess fees?


In their analysis, CR is comparing each state's EV fees to how much an average new car would pay in gas taxes. So, in the case of Illinois, the EV fees are still less than the average car would pay in state gas taxes, so IL doesn't make this list.

https://www.consumerreports.org/hyb...-have-the-highest-fees-for-electric-vehicles/


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

bwilson4web said:


> The February 2020, _Consumer Reports,_ has a map showing excessive EV fees by state, pp. 14. Alabama is listed at 80% excess (i.e., nearly twice as much.) The States listed and their *EXCESS* tax/fees:
> 
> 191% - Arizona
> 185% - Missouri
> ...


Careful there, Bob. Some of the states and percentages that you listed above are *proposed *EV fees that are not yet, and may never be, signed into law.

Minnesota is one such example. (You can see the details for each state by hover over the state on the interactive map.)


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Here's the updated list, including only current law:

191% - Arizona
185% - Missouri (Actually 15%)
142% - Texas
132% - Arkansas
130% - Wyoming
112% - Minnesota
100% - Mississippi
80% - Alabama
74% - Oklahoma
61% - North Carolina
48% - Georgia
45% - North Dakota
37% - West Virginia
37% - Washington
36% - Ohio
21% - Idaho
<20% - Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire,
Still... it's insane and infuriating that any state would place _*punitive*_ taxes/fees on residents for doing something that *benefits *_*everyone. *_

Trying to offset lost gas tax revenue is one thing, but punishing people and making them pay even more than their share is indefensible. (Not terribly surprising though that all but one of these states voted Republican in 2016.)


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## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

So I see the map and numbers but no explanation of how they got there. There have to be assumptions of miles driven per year and average MPG to come up with those factors.
The average miles driven varies from state to state and is probably a lot more for someone who drives his truck for oilfield work in West Texas than say Delaware.
Note that as average gas mileage has increased, the states have collected less tax per mile driven. The gas tax needs to be raised.

I think the only way to be fair is to keep track of mileage driven per year by car. For areas that do emission inspection or safety inspection yearly, that mileage could be captured by the OBDC.
It is usually tracked on Title transfers too so that info could be used to 'catch up' if necessary. Otherwise they will have to figure out how to add the tax to the kWh bought while charging. But what about charging at home?


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## ChristianZ (Nov 10, 2018)

Finally, a list NJ isn't on


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## DennisP (Jan 5, 2019)

Hmmm.... I haven't read anything about Arizona so I wonder where they get this. I paid around $150 to register my 3 for 5 years less than a year ago. My previous Beemer's ran around $700 per year before that.....


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Confirmed TX has no special EV fee. They've tried, but so far successfully beat it back. We aren't opposed to the fee, we are just opposed to a fee that is much higher than non EV, which I know is the point of the article. It has not passed here yet however.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

jsmay311 said:


> In their analysis, CR is comparing each state's EV fees to how much an average new car would pay in gas taxes. So, in the case of Illinois, the EV fees are still less than the average car would pay in state gas taxes, so IL doesn't make this list.
> 
> https://www.consumerreports.org/hyb...-have-the-highest-fees-for-electric-vehicles/


IL gas tax is at $.38 per gallon. Doing 10k mi the added $100 fee assumes our vehicles are only getting 38mpg. A hybrid is paying less than a BEV 

BEVs are closer to 100 MPGe. At 10k mi per year and the $.38 IL gas tax the fee should of only been $38, and this is almost triple.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

DennisP said:


> Hmmm.... I haven't read anything about Arizona so I wonder where they get this. I paid around $150 to register my 3 for 5 years less than a year ago. My previous Beemer's ran around $700 per year before that.....


 When I purchased my M3 in September, 2018 the Arizona 5-year license and tax fee was $91.05.

There was at that time a proposed (and, I thought already signed into law) additional $200/year to go in effect on Jan 01, 2019. fee. To make up for the non-collectable gas tax on EVs I calculated that $200 ot be 4x what I currently pay in petrol taxes driving a prius (10K miles x .19/mile = $38/year). So $200/year additional is definitely intended to punishment registering an EV. And AZ does not provide any EV rebate or other tax credits.

If your 5-year fee was only $150 in CY 2019, then I suspect that law was changed. Good news.


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## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

The tax cannot keep going down just because cars use less gas. The tax is supposed to be for road maintenance which is pretty much unrelated to mileage. BEV cars are today generally heavier than ICE cars so if anything we should pay more. So far most of us have paid nothing but don't expect it to last.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

bwilson4web said:


> The February 2020, _Consumer Reports,_ has a map showing excessive EV fees by state, pp. 14. Alabama is listed at 80% excess (i.e., nearly twice as much.) The States listed and their *EXCESS* tax/fees:
> 
> 191% - Arizona
> 185% - Missouri
> ...


you should update your #1 post to show those that are CURRENT vs PROPOSED. as some of those highest ones currently are 0% above the gas tax but you've listed the proposed fee.

EDIT - just based on Washington State, it also seems they are calculating this based on only the state fuel tax, not the federal, which is weird.

Wa EV registration is an additional $225/year (over the typical registration). TOTAL gas tax is $.678/gallon. WA state gas tax is $.494. Based on 12000 miles at 36MPG, at $.494 tax the total is $169.37, which would calc out to the 37%. based on the total tax, the gas tax would be $226, so right at the $225 EV registration surcharge. Unless they are using a way different miles driven per year or MPG efficiency, something is up with their numbers.

(if anyone is interested, WA has the highest weed tax in the country at 37%, or approx $85/ounce)


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Feathermerchant said:


> The tax cannot keep going down just because cars use less gas. The tax is supposed to be for road maintenance which is pretty much unrelated to mileage. BEV cars are today generally heavier than ICE cars so if anything we should pay more. So far most of us have paid nothing but don't expect it to last.


It'd get pretty difficult to charge a variable fee based on weight. The easiest and fairest option would be to charge by mile based on class of vehicle. So trucks/commercial would pay more, while motorcycles would pay less. Those that drive more, pay more. And those that don't drive at all (or minimal) have the least impact on the roads and therefore should pay the least.


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## Mike (Apr 4, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> It'd get pretty difficult to charge a variable fee based on weight. The easiest and fairest option would be to charge by mile based on class of vehicle. So trucks/commercial would pay more, while motorcycles would pay less. Those that drive more, pay more. And those that don't drive at all (or minimal) have the least impact on the roads and therefore should pay the least.


I've actually proposed this to my local member of provincial parliament (Ontario).

On two occasions within the past two years, I formally recommended:

eliminate all taxes on any liquid fuel that is directed towards "road maintenance",
implement a "road maintenance fee" that one pays every year upon the normal, $120/year tag renewal (one's birth month),
the new fee is based on a matrix of total kms driven since the last tag renewal and gross vehicle weight rating.
I never hear anything back...


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

Over night, I realize someone might ask 'How did _Consumer Reports_ (CR) come up with these percentages?' I've had trouble with CR math in the past and this article suffers from both a poor graphic and murky math. So I appreciate your approach:


MelindaV said:


> Wa EV registration is an additional $225/year (over the typical registration). TOTAL gas tax is $.678/gallon. WA state gas tax is $.494. Based on 12000 miles at 36MPG, at $.494 tax the total is $169.37, which would calc out to the 37%. based on the total tax, the gas tax would be $226, so right at the $225 EV registration surcharge. Unless they are using a way different miles driven per year or MPG efficiency, something is up with their numbers.


Using Alabama's "80%", what is the CR optimum tax/fee? I don't know but here is how I would approach the problem:

15,000 miles - EPA estimated average miles per year
33.8 MPG (2017) - Fleet Fuel Economy Performance Report
$0.24/gallon - Increased Alabama gas tax
$0.18/gallon - Alabama legacy gas tax

Doing the math:

15,000 miles / 33.8 MPG ~= 443.8 gallons per year
443.8 gal * $0.24/gal ~= $106.51 gas tax revenue
$200 EV tax / $106.51 gas tax revenue = 188 %, ~88 % excess EV taxing
*$200* EV tax - $106.51 = *$93.49* excess EV tax
Rather than getting pissed, turn the problem on its head and kill gasoline fuel taxes with a universal vehicle tax. To handle scaling, $25/tire works. Keep just enough tax to handle the $6.51. With such cheaper gas, people in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida will cross into Alabama to buy our cheaper gas.

Bob Wilson

ps. My favorite math joke:
*Two mathematics professors are sitting in a restaurant.*​_







_​_The first one says: "The average person is, mathematically, an idiot. People don't know algebra, can't figure out percents, can't read a simple graph, and don't even get me started on calculus..."_​​_The second professor disagrees, "Surely you're exaggerating. Most people know all the math they need to know, or more."_​​_Some time later, the first professor goes to the men's room. The other mathematician beckons to the waitress and says, "Next time you come to our table, I am going to ask you a question. No matter what I ask, I want you to answer by saying 'x-squared'. Please don't mess it up and there's an extra tip coming your way."_​​_The waitress agrees. When the first mathematician returns, his companion says, "So lets put your theory to the test. I am going to ask some random person who comes by our table an elementary calculus question, and we'll see if they can solve it."_​​_Soon the waitress comes by and he says, "Excuse me, Miss, can you bring me more tea, please -- and by the way -- can you tell me what the integral of 2x with respect to x is?"_​​_The waitress replies, "Certainly sir, more tea it is. And it's x-squared."_​​_The mathematician says, "See! What did I tell you?" His friend is dumbfounded._​​_The waitress, meanwhile, goes to bring tea, and, having turned her back on the two professors, mutters under her breath: "Plus a constant."_​


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

bwilson4web said:


> Over night, I realize someone might ask 'How did _Consumer Reports_ (CR) come up with these percentages?' I've had trouble with CR math in the past and this article suffers from both a poor graphic and murky math. So I appreciate your approach:
> 
> Using Alabama's "80%", what is the CR optimum tax/fee? I don't know but here is how I would approach the problem:
> 
> ...


Your AL example does not include the federal gas tax. That was my point. The article and crappy graph appears to not really take the full impact at the pump into consideration. 
Al's CURRENT state tax is .2191 and the federal is . 184 for a total of $.4031
in your example at 15000 miles and 33.8 mpg the complete tax paid at the pump is $178.89, which is under the EV registration by *$21.11*, not $93.49.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Plain and simple, I believe the excessive registration fees are because the lawmakers have been pushed by oil or automotive lobbyists to get rid of EV’s in the state entirely. Since they don’t have the means or the courage to just ban them from being sold or registered in the state altogether, they go for subtle ways to make them less attractive by adding penalties and hardships hoping to make EV’s unattainably expensive.

They use road tax as a tool to do that because they feel it will make the average gas car owner sympathetic to the changes. Banning EV’s upsets all drivers because it takes away a choice. Adding exorbiant fees to EV registration seems “fair” to gas car owners, because it evens the playing field since EV owners don’t have to pay for gas.

It also carries the subtle psychological effect that you’re breaking the law or social norms somehow by buying an EV. Because when else are you subject to excessively high government fees? When you break the law and get a ticket. That’s what it sounds like when you’re at the DMV, and the total fee is hundreds of dollars. The people around you think you must have lots of tickets.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

MelindaV said:


> you should update your #1 post to show those that are CURRENT vs PROPOSED. as some of those highest ones currently are 0% above the gas tax but you've listed the proposed fee.
> 
> EDIT - just based on Washington State, it also seems they are calculating this based on only the state fuel tax, not the federal, which is weird.
> 
> ...


 The state doesn't get the federal fuel tax. That $$ goes into a different pocket. So the *STATE* license fee must be based only on the state fuel tax.

While it's true that most long-range EVs are heavier than their ICE cousins, they (EVs) don't drip fuel and oil on the pavement, damaging it.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

The USA Federal gas tax hasn't changed to my knowledge. Given I get a $3,750 tax credit this year, I've got mine.


MelindaV said:


> Your AL example does not include the federal gas tax. That was my point. The article and crappy graph appears to not really take the full impact at the pump into consideration.
> Al's CURRENT state tax is .2191 and the federal is . 184 for a total of $.4031
> in your example at 15000 miles and 33.8 mpg the complete tax paid at the pump is $178.89, which is under the EV registration by *$21.11*, not $93.49.


I was using data from 'popular press' stories about the Alabama gas tax. The official web site suggests it was close enough:
https://revenue.alabama.gov/business-license/motor-fuels/motor-fuels-tax-rates/
. . .

I was trying to show the more we drive our EVs, we reduce the effect of these excessive EV taxes. But it is important in an election year to let our representatives know they screwed up.

Bob Wilson


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Here's an explanation for their calculations from an earlier iteration of this CR analysis done in Sept '19:

https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Consumer-Reports-EV-Fee-analysis.pdf

"*Approach *

_Defining a Maximum Justifiable EV Fee_

For states that decide to institute an EV fee, there is no single answer to the question of what an appropriate EV fee should be. Though EV fees should be determined relative to the gas tax paid by a conventional vehicle, there has yet to be a consensus upon what fuel economy that comparison should be based. The Natural Resources Defense Council makes a strong case that the fee should be based upon the EPA-rated miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). Others within the policy community suggest that comparing EVs with some of the most efficient gasoline vehicles (e.g., Toyota Prius) is appropriate. These approaches can be useful for states that want to align their tax and fee structure to reward superior vehicle efficiency.

Rather than advocating for a single approach, the purpose of this analysis is to define a "maximum justifiable fee" (MJF) as the highest level that an EV fee could be set in a given state and still be expected to provide the same highway funding revenue as the average new gasoline vehicle. There are certainly strong rationale for setting EV fees lower than the MJF, such as encouraging EV adoption and investment or reducing pollution, but any fee higher than the MJF cannot be justified in terms of raising highway funding revenue, relative to what gasoline-powered vehicles are paying. Because most EVs that will be on the road in the near term will be new or relatively new, they should be compared with other new vehicles rather than the full existing vehicle fleet. Thus, the fleet average CAFE standards for new vehicles is an appropriate metric on which to base the comparison. Any EV fee set at a level that is higher than the gas tax paid by the average new conventional gasoline-powered vehicle would disadvantage EV owners, and thus cannot be justified on the basis of fairness.

The MJF will vary by state. It is calculated for each state using the equation below:

MJF = Average Vehicle Miles Traveled/Fuel Economy Standard x State Gas Tax

For the fuel economy standard in this equation, two values are used in this study. These are the expected average new-vehicle fuel economy based upon existing fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for model year 2020 and model year 2025. Including 2025 allows for analysis of how the MJF is likely to change over time as the fuel economy of conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles continues to improve.

_EV Fee Classification_

Using the maximum justifiable fee, we classify all existing and proposed EV fees as either "punitive" or "non-punitive" depending on whether they are above or below the MJF, respectively. We further differentiate punitive fees by labeling fees that force EV drivers to pay at least 50 percent more than the average new internal combustion engine vehicle as "extremely punitive.""


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## slasher016 (Sep 12, 2017)

Ohio just made is $200 for EV and $100 for hybrid. This infuriates me for many reasons. Obviously it's unfair for many reasons, but I have three vehicles for one person. Two are gas right now (convertible and motorcycle) and one is my Model 3. If I switch to an EV convertible and EV bike, I'm paying $600 a year to register my car with ZERO additional mileage. I'm still going to drive 12-15k miles a year regardless but now i'm getting taxed 3x even if you consider the $200 fair (btw it's not even close.) Legislators have their heads up their asses and this pisses me off.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

bwilson4web said:


> The USA Federal gas tax hasn't changed to my knowledge. Given I get a $3,750 tax credit this year, I've got mine.
> 
> I was using data from 'popular press' stories about the Alabama gas tax. The official web site suggests it was close enough:
> https://revenue.alabama.gov/business-license/motor-fuels/motor-fuels-tax-rates/
> ...


my point is if you are comparing the cost to the owner, and comparing it to the fuel tax, the total fuel tax the consumer pays should be used. in most cases, the EV licensing surcharge is not specifically stating it is a straight replacement for the state's gas tax. WA has 2 separate line items. the second is essentially covering the latest state incentive to purchase an EV, not to fund the highway fund. Some states state the fee is to buildout EV charging infrastructure. etc.


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