DALLAS (NewsNation) — Starting next week in Texas, electric vehicle owners will have to pay $200 extra for their registration. It’s an attempt to recover the taxes EV drivers would have paid had they filled up their tanks with gas.
Those taxes help pay for highways and roads in the state.
Several other states either have laws like this or are trying to figure out the issue. These fees have received a lot of mixed reactions on whether they are fair or not.
Data reveals the majority of drivers understand there has to be some way to make sure the roads are kept in shape, especially as EVs become more prevalent.
However, there is disagreement about how much should be paid, whether it should be that flat $200 fee or based on mileage. Texas leaders have been looking at other states to determine what’s the best practice.
The new Texas law starts Sept. 1, and electric vehicle drivers will have to pay an additional $200 each year in registration fees and $400 to register a new electric car.
A recent report from the Texas DMV found that’s how much tax revenue is lost when an EV replaces a gas car, which state officials claim is its primary financial source to maintain roads.
“With the growing use of EVs, the revenue from the fuel tax is decreasing, which diminishes our ability to fund road improvements for all drivers. EVs use the same roads as petroleum-powered vehicles, thus they should be subject to an equalization of road use consumption amount,” State Sen. Robert Nichols said earlier this year.
And many of those who drive EVs agree.
About 77% of EV drivers think they should pay some fee to the state, according to a recent survey from the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance. But rather than spending a flat $200 fee, drivers think it should be based on mileage like it is for gas cars, the survey revealed.
“On average, those folks pay about $123 a year in fees every time we fill up. That was one of the arguments we made is, ‘You’re charging us more than fair,'” Thomas “Smitty” Smith with Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance said.
Texas joins at least 32 other states with similar EV fees on the books ranging from $50 to $200, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. EV supporters say they don’t believe these fees are meant to be punitive and don’t believe they will deter any EV sales.
“People are making their purchasing decisions based on a lot of different factors, and increased fees are just one of those. The savings in fuel really highly outweigh that cost,” Kevin Douglass with Houston Electric Vehicle Association said.
Consumer Reports estimates owning an electric vehicle will save the typical driver between $6,000 and $12,000 in gas and maintenance in the car’s lifetime.
According to the Biden administration, there are more than 3 million EVs on the road. The administration’s goal is to have half of all new car sales be electric by 2030.
NewsNation reached out to the Texas bill’s author for comment but did not hear back.