Owners of electric and hybrid vehicles in Louisiana will soon pay a new fee to ICE owners to make it more equitable, USA Today reported.
According to Republican Baton Rouge Republican Barbara Freiberg, EV and hybrid owners pay no petrol tax or less for hybrids and so they get a “free ride” on publicly owned roads and bridges. “I think they all use our road to give something back,” Freiberg said.
The Freiburg House raised Bill 1031, which won a final pass in the legislature on Sunday, and would ensure that electric car and hybrid owners would pay their fair share of road taxes.
All electric vehicle owners will be charged an annual fee of $ 110, while the fee for hybrid owners will be $ 60. Seventy percent of the revenue collected from the fee will go to maintenance of state roads and bridges, whereas 30 percent will go to local roads and bridges.
Read more: North Carolina Bill Targeting Free Charging Can Kneecap EVs
20 cents per gallon is collected as part of the state petrol tax, which goes towards the maintenance of existing roads and bridges. The amount of gas tax paid by the average driver of a gasoline-powered engine varies according to make, model, and number of miles driven, but in Louisiana, that number averages $ 148 per year.
The bill requires a two-thirds vote to pass both the House and the Senate because it introduced a new fee. Democratic Governor John Bell is expected to sign the Edwards Bill, and his transportation secretary, Shawn Wilson, has testified in favor of the bill.
“The intention is to establish a fair share policy,” Wilson said. Taxes or fees on EVs and hybrids have already been imposed in thirty states, and Freiberg says Louisiana’s fees are “in line or lower than in neighboring states.”
Owners will start paying fees through their income tax forms in 2023 and will rely on voluntary consent to report state taxes.
