Since 1921, Washington has paid for roads with gas taxes, but that won’t work when everyone has electric cars.
A state House bill would replace gas taxes with a 2.5¢ per mile fee by 2030, similar to an Oregon scheme, but a GOP legislator prefers to slap an additional sales tax on cars (read story here).
This would force senior citizens and other low-mileage drivers to subsidize high-mileage drivers. Under the current system, the owner of a car averaging 19.76 mpg would break even if a 2.5¢ per mile fee replaced Washington’s 49.4¢ per gallon gas tax (49.4 ÷ 2.5 = 19.76). But a 70-old driver who drove 2,500 miles a year (for shopping, doctor visits, etc.) would pay 10 times as much for roads, on a per-mile basis, as a commuter who drives 25,000 miles a year.
Democrats control the legislature (see breakdown here), but the Republican legislator said there’s opposition to the per-mile fee scheme “on both sides of the aisle.” Like most Washington Republican legislators, he’s from a largely rural county, where people drive longer distances.
There’s already a sales tax on cars, and increasing it to pay for roads would have unintended consequences. It likely would depress car sales, because people would hold onto cars longer, and make new cars less affordable. For that reason, car dealers probably will oppose it.
It also would be a variable and unpredictable revenue source. The gas tax is directly tied to miles driven, but road revenues dependent on car sales could fluctuate wildly, making it difficult or impossible to schedule road construction or repairs.
The governor doesn’t support the per-mile scheme, and the road tax on car sales probably will be stillborn. How do you pay for roads in an era of electric cars? Stay tuned.
Photo below: How to pay a zero gas tax
