Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82
People here are mainly buying EVs because gas prices are out of control. And the gas prices are out of control because of taxes. The dollar is as strong as ever, and a barrel of oil is $40 lower than it was 10 years ago. $80 v $120. What changed? Taxes.
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From Wikipedia:
The United States federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. Proceeds from the tax partly support the Highway Trust Fund. The federal tax was last raised October 1, 1993 and is not indexed to inflation, which increased 93% from 1993 until 2022. On average, as of April 2019, state and local taxes and fees add 34.24 cents to gasoline and 35.89 cents to diesel .... That's on a gallon of fuel costing between $4 and $5.
I don't see that as 'out of control'. Especially when the federal tax on gas was fixed in 1993 and hasn't kept pace with inflation.
If your state adds a disproportioate tax on gas that is in line with, or exceeds inflation, then that's hardly a global, or even national driver for people to buy EVs. Although it's certainly fair for you to be asking whether the revenues all go to improving your roads, or are siphoned off to other things, as covert funding for programmes that you might not endorse. And in an era when cars are getting more efficient, how they're going to make up the fuel tax shortfall as revenues decline.