COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – While the Michigan Speaker of the House has endorsed a plan to raise taxes on electric vehicles in an effort to find more funding for road construction, Branch County’s representative in the Michigan Senate also says it should be looked at to generate revenue.
Representative Matt Hall says if money is needed for roads, it wouldn’t be the worst place to start. He says motorists who own and drive an electric vehicle should “pay their fair share.”
State Senator Jonathan Lindsey is not opposed to the idea.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has consistently asked for new revenue, even running on the issue during her first campaign for office. However, attempts to implement a tax on gasoline failed.
Makes sense to me. As a hybrid vehicle owner we save about 900-1,000 dollars per year on gas. Of course I lose a portion of that to the extra cost of purchasing a hybrid but still would be okay with paying an extra 10-15% of that in road tax – seems fair to me. Just wish there was a way to collect from out of state drivers of evs. Perhaps a sales tax on ev charging station usage?
EVs already pay an additional surcharge every year on plate renewal. Additional tax revenue needs to be at the charging stations, not to the Michigan individuals. We pay not only the additional EV charge, but also through our electric rates. If the burden falls to the EV owners in the State, we will lose the incentive for people to go EV/Hybrid.