Drivers throughout the U.S. pay state and federal taxes every time they fill up their tank. These funds go toward repairing roads and taking care of maintenance for public infrastructure, but with the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles, the amount of money in these funds has started to dwindle. To combat this decrease, some states, like New Jersey, are considering implementing a tax on electric vehicles.
In New Jersey, government officials want to charge electric car owners 0.00839 cents for every mile they drive. The average driver would then have to pay around $100 per year - the total for about 12,000 miles on the road, AutoBlog reports.
"We've discussed it, and the consensus is fair is fair," Michael Thwaite, president of the New Jersey Electric Automobile Association, told USA Today. "At the end of the day, we're all car drivers and we still chew up the roads and have a debt to society ... [but] what I'm left with is a tax on my car, which looks a little punitive and is not going the right way if we're trying to incentivize people to use electric cars."
Motorists who have already invested a lot of time and money into selecting the best electric car, installing a home charging station and keeping up with its vehicle maintenance may be resistant to this tax. However, if it helps improve the roads, it may be worthwhile for some drivers.