Older Americans would be disproportionately affected, according to new CR analysis
WASHINGTON, D.C.—This week members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced a new proposal to establish an annual clean vehicle tax that would impose an “annual registration fee” on electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids. Under this new proposal, EVs would be charged a $250 annual tax, and hybrids would be charged a $100 annual tax.
A new analysis from Consumer Reports has concluded that the proposed tax, if enacted, would result in the average EV driver paying more than three times as much in annual federal vehicle taxes as the average owner of a new gasoline-powered vehicle. It also found that seniors would be disproportionately affected, with EV owners age 65 and older paying up to six times more than if they drove the average new vehicle achieving 28 miles per gallon of gas. Hybrid owners would also be harmed by this policy change, with the average hybrid owner paying twice as much as if they had chosen a non-hybrid vehicle.
Dylan Jaff, sustainability and energy policy analyst at Consumer Reports, issued the following statement in response to these proposed vehicle registration fees:
“The proposed new tax would unfairly punish consumers who choose to drive more efficient vehicles, while inadequately addressing the issues surrounding road funding shortfalls. While the issue of declining funding for road infrastructure projects is a critical one, it will not be solved through a rushed process that disproportionately impacts particular consumers, such as seniors, and does not get to the root of why transportation funding revenues are in decline.
“We urge Congress to reject this proposal and instead initiate a more inclusive and thoughtful process for overhauling how we fund our roads and bridges. Wherever Congress lands, it should take an equitable approach to address road funding going forward, in a world where vehicles continue to become more efficient. What we’ve seen this week from the House is the opposite of that approach.”
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org