(NewsNation) — U.S. House Republicans have proposed a new $200 fee on electric vehicles, seemingly offering a path for the government to recoup cash from owners who avoid paying diesel and gasoline taxes.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s reconciliation bill draft outlines new annual registration fees for three types of vehicles, starting in the next decade.
- $200 electric vehicle fee
- $100 hybrid fee
- $20 other car fee
Those fees are liable to grow. According to committee documents, the fees “shall be increased on an annual basis to account for the rate of inflation each fiscal year.”
EV owners currently don’t pay diesel or gasoline taxes, which bring in revenue for most of the nation’s federally funded road and bridge repairs.
In order to keep cash flow consistent, a majority of states — 39 — have already started charging fees for those driving electric vehicles.
The federal gas tax is 18.3 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To hit the proposed $200 EV fee, a driver would have to pay taxes on nearly 1,093 gallons worth of gas.
That’s roughly double the estimated average gas usage per registered vehicle which sits at 489 gallons, per American Petroleum Institute data. Other estimates put gas consumption closer to 350, while others sit at 562.
The committee is scheduled to take up the proposal from Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
